Development Conference to launch Social Housing and Green Infrastructure projects

SFHA's virtual Development Conference, taking place on 16 and 17 September, over two half-day sessions, will discuss three projects that received funding from last year’s Social Housing and Green Infrastructure Fund - a partnership between SFHA, NatureScot, Architecture + Design Scotland and the Scottish Government. The fund was created to support place-design that maximises the benefits of green infrastructure in social housing across Scotland.   

Green infrastructure is particularly relevant given discussion of a 'green recovery' from Covid-19. The projects that will be featured also align directly with the Scottish Government’s vision for housing in 2040.

The projects will be introduced by Ivan Clark, Placemaking Team Manager at NatureScot.

He said: “Our Social Housing and Green Infrastructure Fund provided financial support to three new projects that will provide lessons for the housing sector and lead to more opportunities for people to connect with nature close to where they live.

“Scotland’s urban green spaces provide many benefits for people and nature – from opportunities to exercise; spaces to grow food; refuges for wildlife; and valuable services, such as management flood water, and mitigating the effects of air and noise pollution. But there are still many places in Scotland, often associated with areas of disadvantage, where green infrastructure is not fulfilling its potential in terms of the number of benefits it could provide.”  

But what does this mean in practice? 

Delegates will also be able to access sessions offering practical advice on how to go about this type of development, and understand exactly why it’s so important for our environment and wellbeing.

The conference will also hear from the construction industry on developing in a more environmentally sustainable way, and look at opportunities for off-site construction, which may also feature more prominently in a post-COVID world.

Why attend?

• Hear about housing’s role in the recovery from Covid-19, economically and environmentally
• See practice case studies from RSLs already developing green infrastructure sites
• A chance to explore how RSLs and the construction industry can work together on sustainable development

The virtual conference will feature a series of live and recorded sessions that will take place over two half-days on 16 and 17 September. Sessions will be in the morning on day one and in the afternoon on day two.

Virtual Q&As, chat and polling will help to create an innovative interactive experience for delegates. You can also access on demand content from virtual conferences for three months after the event, so you can watch at anytime, and anywhere, that’s convenient to you.

Rates start at £220 for SFHA members and you can bring along a colleague for free when you book a place.

You book your place at the conference, please visit the SFHA Live! section of our website.

A few days before the conference, you will be sent a link to access SFHA's new interactive conference hub. If you have any questions, please contact SFHA's events team on events@sfha.co.uk.