Grow Places

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Nov 2026

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About the show

Welcome to the Grow Places podcast where we explore the virtuous circle of people growth and place. Brought to you by Grow Places and hosted by our Founder, Tom Larsson. These short conversations with industry leaders and community figures share insights on the built environment and open up about their purpose and what drives them on a personal level. Thank you for listening. For more information please visit our website; www.growplaces.com and connect with us @WeGrowPlaces across all social channels. We cover topics such as real estate, property development, place, urban design, architecture, social value, sustainability, community, technology, diversity, philanthropy, landscape design, public realm, cities, urban development, people, neighbourhoods, anthropology, sociology, geography, culture, circular economy, whole life carbon, affordability, business models, innovation, impact, futurism, mindset, leadership, mentorship, wellbeing. See you next time!

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60 recent

November 3, 202640 min

GP 72: Roots, Belonging and the Future of Place: with Julien Clin of Arup

In this episode of the Grow Places Podcast, Tom Larsson sits down with Julien Clin of Arup’s Foresight team. Julien is Arup’s futures learning partner, and he has recently completed a PhD exploring home, place and belonging in the city. Julien’s research began with a question from his mother: did her home village feel like home to him? Having moved between France, Germany and London, he could not say yes. That question led him to rethink what roots really are. We usually think of roots as where we come from. Julien sees them as where we are now, and as how we engage with the place we have chosen. In this view, belonging is not something we inherit but something we build, by giving to a place as much as we take from it. His foresight work at Arup carries this idea into the future. When people feel they have lost control of their place, they often look back to an idealised past. Thinking about possible futures gives that agency back. It turns the future of place into something communities can shape rather than something that simply happens to them. As Julien puts it, home is the spirit of hope. Topics covered include: Roots: why home is about where we choose to contribute rather than where we come from, drawing on Heidegger’s idea of the fourfold and the German notion of Heimat, which sees home as the wider community rather than the house alone Belonging: how community gardens, libraries, youth clubs and community sport bring people together, and what is lost when that social infrastructure declines Nostalgia and agency: how longing for the past can close down our sense of the future, and how futures literacy helps people regain the power to shape it Regenerative places: Arup’s three principles of nature-led, place-based and a just transition, and the shared Greek root of economy and ecology in the word for home Practical advice for developers: challenging the assumptions in a brief, delivering value across more than one time horizon, and enabling outcomes beyond a project’s red line The right scale: why the city is the most impactful scale for change, and why decisions need to be made at the right level The future of place: how AI, climate change and shifting value systems could reshape our futures, drawing on Arup’s scenario work looking ahead to the firm’s centenary Hope: utopia as a scenario rather than a blueprint, and the closing idea that hope is the belief that things can be better, and that it is up to us to make them so For more from Grow Places, visit growplaces.com and follow us at We Grow Places across all social channels.

October 20, 2026Episode 7129 min

GP 71: Data Centres Explained: with Celeste McGinley of Knight Frank

In this episode of the Grow Places Podcast, Tom Larsson sits down with Celeste McGinley of Knight Frank’s Global Data Centre team. Celeste advises buyers, sellers and occupiers on data centres, land and co-location space, mainly across Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Data centres are in the headlines more and more, yet few people understand what they are, why we need them, or why they are so hard to deliver. This episode is a clear, practical explainer. Celeste describes how every email, stored photo and banking transaction runs through a physical building somewhere. She also explains how a sector that only emerged in the late 1990s has grown dramatically in scale and importance in just a few years. Topics covered include: What a data centre actually is, and the difference between enterprise, co-location and hyperscale facilities How quickly scale has grown, with European builds now exceeding 100 megawatts and some approaching 500 megawatts, and why AI could at least double demand over the next five to eight years Why location has traditionally been driven by network and connectivity, from the West London cluster to Docklands, and how shortages of land and power, planning and the cost of power are now reshaping site selection The significance of the UK government designating data centres as Critical National Infrastructure in September 2024, and the knock-on effects for planning and grid reform Public concerns about data centres, whether they can be sustainable, and why the sector needs to get better at explaining what it does Alternative power, from gas to small modular reactors, and Celeste’s long-held ambition to put a data centre in space The US, Middle East and Asian markets, and Celeste’s advice to UK developers: be creative, be flexible, and stay close to the established data centre heartlands For more from Grow Places, visit growplaces.com and follow us at We Grow Places across all social channels.

October 6, 2026Episode 7039 min

GP 70: The Power of the Collective: with Max Farrell of LDN Collective

In this episode of the Grow Places Podcast, Tom Larsson sits down with Max Farrell, founder of LDN Collective. LDN Collective is a values-led network of independent built environment specialists who come together to work on projects in London, across the UK and beyond. Max spent around ten years as a partner at Farrells, the practice founded by his father, Sir Terry Farrell. His work there covered communications, masterplanning and urban regeneration, and he worked on the Farrell Review of architecture and the built environment. Seven years ago he set out to test a different model. It was partly inspired by the way the film industry brings together a cast and crew for each project. LDN Collective unites SMEs and specialists around a shared set of values. Clients get senior expertise without the overheads of a large multidisciplinary firm, and members can take on work at a scale they could not reach alone. Topics covered include: The four values that bind the Collective (diverse, dynamic, beyond profit and, above all, collaborative), and why collaboration is easy to claim but much harder to practise How the model works in practice, from flexible procurement routes and a member referral system to a membership fee Max compares to a gym subscription Why bringing social impact, community engagement and sustainability into the team at the very start of a project changes every decision that follows The Wolfson Prize entry that became a four-act play about the hospital of the future, and how it led to Max chairing the Healthy City Design Congress Why every place already has a cultural identity, and why the industry should work to understand it rather than impose a brand Leadership as convening and empowering rather than directing, and why trust depends on honesty, consistency and knowing when to pick up the phone Plans to take the city collective model beyond London, with conversations under way in Newcastle and Sydney For more from Grow Places, visit growplaces.com and follow us at We Grow Places across all social channels.

September 22, 2026Episode 6954 min

GP 69: Human Is The New Luxury: with Anthony Slumbers

In this episode of the Grow Places Podcast, Tom Larsson sits down with Antony Slumbers, PropTech strategist and advisor, and a pioneer of the sector since launching the UK's first commercial real estate website in 1995. Antony's central provocation is simple: as AI drives the cost of intelligence toward zero, the qualities that remain scarce, and valuable, are distinctly human ones. He calls this "human is the new luxury," and the conversation traces what that means for cities, buildings and the people who make decisions about both. Topics covered include: Why real estate is shifting from a market of need to a market of want, and what that means for every asset class except housing The case for mixed use cities, and why offices now have to catalyse human skills rather than simply house desks The risk of AI-driven inequality, and why Antony believes a new social contract will be needed as returns shift toward capital and away from knowledge work Why he sees AI as the ultimate thinking partner for real estate professionals, and why the "we need more data first" objection no longer holds The difference between investors who still want guaranteed NOI from familiar assets, and those willing to back visionary, entrepreneurial development How cities and towns build a brand and a cluster others want to be part of, from King's Cross to Nashville The four skills Antony believes everyone now needs: human skills, critical thinking, systems thinking, and data literacy Antony currently runs the Generative AI for Real Estate course, updating it every six weeks to keep pace with the field, and is a widely followed commentator on proptech and the future of work. For more from Grow Places, visit growplaces.com and follow us at We Grow Places across all social channels.

September 8, 2026Episode 6845 min

GP 68: Housing as Social Infrastructure: with Ofri Earon of Neighborhood Lab

Ofri Earon is an architect, urban planner, and the founder and director of Neighborhood Lab, a Copenhagen based strategic advisory working on social impact in housing and neighbourhood design. Her career began in Amsterdam, working on the transformation of the Bijlmermeer, before a PhD in social sustainability in residential areas led her to see housing as something far bigger than shelter. In this conversation, Ofri makes the case for treating housing as social infrastructure, arguing that where and how people live shapes their life chances as much as their income does. She explains why social issues can't be solved within the boundaries of a single property, and why neighbourhood, not building, has to be the unit of design. The conversation moves through governance as the often invisible work of aligning private investors, housing associations and residents around shared goals, and through density, where she draws on Copenhagen's courtyard model to show how closely packed housing can still support genuine community. The conversation also includes a personal reflection from Ofri on leaving her own neighbourhood of Vesterbro for a larger family home. "I just really loved living there," she says, a candid illustration of how deeply the places we live shape our sense of identity. In this episode: Why housing should be measured as social infrastructure, not just as shelter Why neighbourhood scale, not building scale, is where social impact is actually created The role of governance in preventing "us and them" dynamics between residents What Copenhagen's courtyard model teaches about density done well Why engagement and listening to residents has to be a continuous process, not a one off consultation A personal reflection on identity, place, and what's lost when you leave a neighbourhood you love

July 28, 2026Episode 671 hr 3 min

GP 67: Live Life in the Yellow: with Nick Searl

Nick Searl spent over two decades at Argent, where he played a central role in the development of King's Cross, one of the UK's most significant regeneration projects. He now advises Urban Partners, a Copenhagen based investment business, on large scale urban regeneration across Europe. Reflecting on a Radio 4 programme about the lost art of getting lost, Nick makes the case for a different relationship with uncertainty, one where the goal isn't to eliminate risk but to become comfortable working within it. As he puts it, we live life in the yellow, not the red or the green. He carries that thinking through to how cities and developers plan for the long term, arguing that the only certainty over a fifteen or twenty year delivery period is that the social, economic and political context will change significantly. The conversation covers the King's Cross Principles, a shared manifesto written over twelve months with English Heritage and Camden Council before a single drawing was produced, the most basic finding from King's Cross community engagement, that people wanted, above all else, to feel safe and secure, and the case for co-creation over adversarial relationships between developers, cities and investors. Nick closes with a personal reflection on stepping back from a long, structured career and finding a new sense of purpose through coaching and advisory work. In this episode: Why we should get more comfortable living in the grey, or the yellow, rather than demanding certainty The King's Cross Principles and why the process mattered more than the plan What a thousand people told Argent they actually wanted from King's Cross Why the adversarial mindset between developers and cities holds regeneration back Reflections on identity, purpose and reinvention after a long career

July 7, 2026Episode 6646 min

GP 66: Built Environment Sector is Critical to UK Growth: with Nick McKeogh of NLA

In this episode of the Grow Places Podcast, Tom Larsson is joined by Nick McKeogh, co-founder and Chief Executive of NLA, to explore two decades of building a civic institution dedicated to bringing together everyone who shapes the built environment. Nick reflects on NLA's origins around London's 2005 Olympic bid, born from a simple observation: the professionals who plan, design, fund and build the city rarely had a shared space to think together, and Londoners themselves were often left out of the conversation entirely. The discussion unpacks NLA's "three Ps" framework for successful placemaking, people, place and purpose, and why starting with people rather than form or finance leads to better outcomes. Nick shares striking research showing the built environment sector accounts for 25% of UK GVA and one in eight jobs, yet remains fragmented across professions that rarely see themselves as part of one industry. He discusses NLA's shift towards "systems leadership," the idea that no single visionary shapes a great city, but rather thousands of collaborating actors, and explores common misconceptions held by developers, architects, communities and politicians about one another. Nick also traces his personal route into this work, beginning as a child in his father's architectural model-making business during the early 1990s recession, and reflects on the enduring power of physical models to inspire young people in an increasingly screen-based world. The conversation closes with his ambition for a global network of NLA-style institutions, and a call for the industry to slow down and invest time upfront in genuine conversation, arguing that patience and trust-building ultimately deliver better places, faster.

June 23, 2026Episode 6535 min

GP 65: Communicate in Primary Colours: Plain English in Complex Institutions, with Muyiwa Oki of Mace

In this episode, Tom Larsson is joined by Muyiwa Oki, architect, former RIBA president, and now at Mace, to explore what it takes to reform a 200-year-old institution from the inside, why technical grounding matters more than ever for architects, and how the built environment can better serve the communities it shapes. Muyiwa traces a deliberate route through smaller practices, building technical foundations before moving into large-scale infrastructure delivery at Mace. He shares what drove him to stand for the RIBA presidency, a campaign rooted in the uncompensated overtime that defined his generation's experience of the profession, and how holding that role sharpened his ability to lead, communicate, and advocate under pressure. The conversation covers the barriers that continue to narrow who enters architecture: the length and cost of training, and the structural gap between education and practice. Muyiwa makes the case for level seven apprenticeships, for building regulations to be embedded in architectural education, and for architects to embrace the principal designer role as a step towards reclaiming responsibility across the full project lifecycle. Tom and Muyiwa also examine what makes public space genuinely work, the risk of hyper-financialisation in the built environment, and why leaving room for people to inhabit places as they choose may be the most honest measure of whether a place was really designed for them. Recorded at the Barbican, London.

June 2, 2026Episode 6435 min

GP 64: Team London: Why is London Such a Draw with Rose Wangen-Jones of London and Partners

In this episode, Tom sits down with Rose Wangen-Jones , Managing Director for Marketing, Destination and Commercial at London and Partners, the growth agency for London. They meet in Southwark to talk about what makes London genuinely distinctive, how the city manages its brand at scale, and the shared responsibility required to keep one of the world's great cities competitive, inclusive and resilient. Rose explains how London and Partners approaches its mission to create economic growth that is sustainable and inclusive, and why the city's brand rests on the combination of the iconic and the innovative. The conversation covers the London Growth Plan and its five identified growth sectors, including the experience economy, which Rose argues is the foundation everything else depends on. They discuss the concept of Team London, a coordinated effort to align messaging across partners, businesses and institutions so that more people are telling London's story consistently and well. Tom and Rose also explore the harder questions: the risks of complacency, the challenge of disinformation, the tension between growth and affordability, and what it takes to develop a city in a way that genuinely benefits the people who live there. Rose shares her perspective on placemaking, investment clusters, and the work of sister organisation Opportunity London in attracting long-term capital to the city. They close with a question about what London should build next, and what it might look like if the city expanded its footprint beyond the West End to offer more people access to the experiences that make it worth coming to, and worth staying in.

May 19, 2026Episode 6353 min

GP 63: Building for Society: with Simon Henley of Henley Halebrown

This episode takes its title from Henley Halebrown's recently published book, Building for Society, and we are privileged to have worked closely with Simon and the practice for over a decade, aligning elegant and economic buildings with the needs of people and place. In this episode of the Grow Places Podcast, Tom Larsson is joined by Simon Henley, Director of Henley Halebrown, at the practice's studio in Perseverance Works, East London. Simon reflects on thirty years of practice built around a deceptively simple conviction: that every building, regardless of its budget or brief, is fundamentally for people and for society. From early work in interiors and adaptive reuse through to award-winning schools, health centres, co-housing and housing, he traces a career shaped as much by accident and curiosity as by intention, and explains how writing, teaching and practice fuel one another. The conversation explores how Henley Halebrown's recurring interest in courtyards, external circulation and civic responsibility has produced buildings that are both elegant and economic, solving practical problems around efficiency, microclimate and construction while elevating the experience of everyday life. The discussion also delves into collaboration and the culture of design teams, with Simon reflecting on the value of intimate, discursive project meetings where people feel free to pose questions and challenge the status quo. Drawing on projects from the Hackney school that stayed open at 40 degrees to the Copper Lane co-housing scheme, from the Truman Brewery to the newly completed Barge Crescent on the South Bank, he demonstrates how buildings can reflect the social logic of the organisations and communities they serve. Simon also shares insights from his time chairing the RIBA awards judging panel, where he helped rewrite the criteria to ask better questions about what makes a good building. Looking ahead, he describes the practice's work in Winchester with Igloo, Peter Barber and Turner Works on what he believes will be the greatest transformation of the city in a thousand years, not through scale, but through the careful repair of streets, squares and medieval waterways. Ambitious yet grounded, his message is clear: keep your feet on the ground and your head in the clouds.