Scottish Cities Alliance

We’re thrilled to announce our biggest partnership to date with UKREiiF next year ‼️ Working together with, UKREiiF, Scotland’s eight cities (Aberdeen, Dundee, Dunfermline, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Perth, and Stirling), and the Scottish Government, we aim to connect with global investors and developers, showcasing Scotland’s potential and open new doors for private-sector engagement. Led by the Alliances Co-Chairs Cllr Grant Laing and Cllr Cammy Day, alongside city leaders, Scottish Government representatives, and senior decision-makers, our delegation will spotlight the innovation, sustainability, and potential of Scotland’s cities to attract impactful, long-term investment. With 16,000 delegates and 1,250 speakers, this will be a significant platform for collaboration, driving sustainable economic growth and advancing Scotland’s net-zero goals. Stay tuned for more information 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eiWwaSJh The Scottish Government Invest Glasgow Invest in Stirling Invest Aberdeen Invest in Edinburgh Invest in Perth InvestDundee Highland Council InvestFife Scottish Development International Scottish Enterprise Highlands and Islands Enterprise Andrew Battye Matt Christie Mya Driver

📩 We are delighted to invite you to our upcoming site visit of Glasgow's Net Zero Neighbourhood! The site visit will focus on Govanhill and the surrounding area, which was selected as a Net Zero Neighbourhood due to its proximity to key infrastructure sites including a district heating network opportunity, as well as its diversity of built environment and demand, and opportunities for retrofitting. This 3Ci Site Visit is in partnership with Glasgow City Council and it will culminate in a roundtable discussion with the Leader of the Council, Susan Aitken. 📍 #Glasgow, Scotland 📅 5th Feb, 2025 Find out more and apply to attend: https://lnkd.in/e6T7NJAT Steve Turner Ian Binns Mary Kerr CMgr MCMI Core Cities UK Scottish Cities Alliance

Gillian McCallum and I had a fantastic time, as always, at the Joining the Dots conference, thanks to West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Connected Places Catapult, and the British Embassy Dublin The event focused on building sustainable transport systems that drive growth. We were pleased that Scottish Cities Alliance partners from Glasgow, Aberdeen, Fife, and Dundee, were able to share insights and best practices with our UK and Irish counterparts. Harjinder Gharyal presented a case study on Clyde Metro, emphasising the important role of uniting key stakeholders. A personal highlight was meeting Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire! Thank you Rachael Bampton-Aiken, Michelle St Clair, Harry O'Rahilly, Alex Cousins, Molly Russell, Thomas Lock, Kirsty Chalmers, Claire McArthur, Nadine Law CMILT, Jane Findlay, Jane Green and Harjinder Gharyal and many many more! 👏

Defined as a priority sector by the Scottish Government, investment and growth in life sciences are key to the development of Scottish cities. The recent UK Budget announcement of a £520m investment into life sciences through an innovative manufacturing fund is a testament to the sector's significance. Scottish cities are making remarkable strides with pioneering research, attracting substantial investments, and creating new job opportunities. 🧪 Edinburgh is leading pioneering research into the treatment of sickle cell disease as Scotland becomes the first country to trial gene-editing therapy. Invest in Edinburgh 🧪 Researchers at the University of Dundee have secured investment of £30m to continue their vital work on new treatments for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.  InvestDundee 🧪 In Aberdeen, as part of the city’s ambition to double the size of the high-value life sciences cluster, NovaBiotics has raised a milestone $40m in investment to supercharge growth and create more skilled jobs. 
 Invest Aberdeen 🧪 Symbiosis Pharmaceuticals Services Ltd is doubling its manufacturing capacity in Stirling through investment in new facilities.  Invest in Stirling 🧪 Kadans Science Partner, in collaboration with The Living Laboratory and its GRID partners University of Glasgow, Scottish Enterprise and Glasgow City Council has established a flagship Innovation Hub that will provide 87,000sq.ft of state-of-the-art flexible laboratory and office space.  Invest Glasgow Scotland’s proficiency in innovation, academia, and research continues to drive the life sciences sector to new heights, making our cities some of the fastest-growing hubs in the country. Through our unique talent, innovative projects and The Scottish Government buy-in the Scottish life sciences sector presents an unparalleled opportunity for investors looking to be at the forefront of medical and technological advancements. Read more here 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eevjbuZM

The Scottish Cities Alliance recently co-hosted a roundtable event, Delivering Retrofit at Scale in Scotland, in partnership with Arup. This gathering convened City Leaders and key partners such as 3Ci (Cities Commission for Climate Investment), The Scottish National Investment Bank, National Wealth Fund, SOLACE, Built Environment - Smarter Transformation, and the Scottish Futures Trust. We were honoured to welcome Chris Hayward, Policy Chairman of the City of London Corporation, as our guest of honour, who shared invaluable perspectives from London's retrofit journey. 🏙️ Investing in scalable, neighbourhood-enhancing decarbonisation is essential for Scotland’s economy, creating jobs, and ensuring long-term sustainability. Our discussions focused on actionable steps to make large-scale retrofitting a reality. In January 2025, Scottish Cities Week in London will build on these discussions. Leaders will tour a net-zero neighbourhood, hosted by 3Ci (Cities Commission for Climate Investment) focusing on retrofitting and climate-resilient infrastructure. For more insights, check out our blog: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e2KecYp7

Another day, another event. Today it was my first time attending BE-ST Fest, as I was particularly keen to attend, not only to see first-hand the stunning refurbishment of my local Paisley Town Hall, but more importantly for the launch of the Centre for Net Zero High Density Buildings. Funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) [£4.5Million] the Centre will focus its efforts on contributing to the decarbonisation of urban places at pace, by investigating how to make buildings in heavily populated areas more energy-efficient to reduce carbon emissions, lower heating bills, and bring eco-friendly construction products to the market. The Centre will test new prototypes and retrofit buildings with low-carbon materials, heating and cooling systems, and energy storage technologies. The Centre for Net-Zero High Density Buildings is a research partnership that aims to make buildings in densely populated areas more energy efficient. The centre is based at the The University of Edinburgh's Edinburgh Futures Institute and is led by the university in collaboration with University of Glasgow, University of Strathclyde, Edinburgh Napier University and University of the West of Scotland and BE-ST, Scotland's innovation centre for net-zero built environments. Professor Sean Smith, Centre Lead, outlined the scale of the challenge ahead of us to not only retrofit Scotland's homes and wider built environment but also fulfil the promise of the Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (LHEES) completed by all Scottish local authorities earlier this year. The magnitude of the task is acute, and will require all of us, from SMEs to large corporations, local authorities, housing associations, national governments, universities and more to find deliverable solutions in a challenging fiscal environment, and Scottish Cities Alliance stands ready to do our part. Eve Jones Gillian McCallum Stephen Good Kirsty Duncan #highdensity #buildings #builtenvironment #netzero #netzerobuildings #retrofit

Yesterday was a fantastic day at the Liveable City Conference in Glasgow, organised by Denmark in the UK, Creative Denmark, Scottish Cities Alliance, Glasgow City Council and Stirling Council. It was great to welcome our Danish friends to discuss the future of the built environment, urban design, architecture, master planning, and sustainability in our cities. A special thanks to H.E. René Dinesen, Danish Ambassador to the UK, for joining us. Looking forward to Day 2 in Stirling, where we’ll continue sharing insights and expertise from both Scotland and Denmark. Rasmus Leth Traberg Jacob Kvetny Lauren Pascu Dan Sharp Architecture and Design Scotland (A&DS) The Academy of Urbanism (AoU) State of Green Denmark

Heading back to Denmark after two inspirational days in Scotland moderating two sessions on the topic of ’Inclusive cities - creating spaces for everyone’ & ‘Masterplans & urban mobility’ under the ‘Liveable City’ conference scope brought to life by Denmark in the UK. We have heard about several interesting projects such as Govan in Glasgow, Forthside in Stirling, West Town, and Granton Waterfront Regeneration in Edinburgh. What comes across the projects is the focus on: 💠 Involvement of communities in the development phase - Women, children, teenagers, elderly people as well as ‘quiet communities’ through incentive schemes and tools such as the ‘place standard tool for children’ with a successful result. “It was noted that “including female communities is a win for all” 💠 Bridges are more than supporting the infrastructure of the city, they connect boroughs and different parts of the city and make a huge change in terms of minimising barriers between citizens. As mentioned by one of the speakers “When opening the bridge all people had a smile on their face as we never seen before” 💠 Respectfully focus on heritage and humbly incorporate it with the current and future needs of the citizens. “Incorporating the cultural heritage is important for citizens to feel connected with the area” It’s noteworthy, how many of the projects have several commonalities with the Danish development projects and masterplans and its synergies for collaboration and partnerships between Danish and Scottish architects, urban planners, cities, and investors. This became clear when Jens Linnet from BOGL aps, Catherine Merlo from Dissing+Weitling, former City Architect of Aarhus Stephen D. Willacy and Rita Justesen from Udviklingsselskabet By & Havn presented their approaches and experiences within the development of cities through masterplans, buildings, landscape architecture, urban mobility and transforming cities from industrial areas to liveable, inclusive and healthy spaces for all. A big thank you for the warm and outmost friendly welcome by both the Glasgow City Council and Stirling Council for hosting the event in the historical buildings as well as the great collaboration with the partners Scottish Cities Alliance, Denmark in the UK and State of Green Denmark. I am very much looking forward to the future collaboration!   Rasmus Leth Traberg Jacob Kvetny Caroline Thomsen Jakob Werner Gry Klitmose Holm Tamsie Thomson Hon FRIBA, The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland Susan Aitken Jacqueline Mclaren Sarah Shaw, Etive Currie, Chris Burrows, Michael Ward Mairi Laverty Collective Architecture Becca Thomas New Practice Jennifer O'Donnell O'DonnellBrown Elaine Watterson Emma Fyvie, David Hopper Siobhain Forde Stallan-Brand Cameron Baillie The City of Edinburgh Council Fife Hyland Drum Property Group

🏙️This week, we were in Scotland for “The Liveable City” conference - a celebration of architecture, urban planning, and a vision to shape cities that are inclusive, green, and built to enhance quality of life. As cities worldwide continue to grow, thoughtful design is more essential than ever for creating spaces where people can sustainably live, work, and play. Over two days, representatives from the cities of Glasgow, Stirling, and Edinburgh as well as architects, property developers, architects, and urban planners came together to address pressing urban challenges: from creating inclusive public spaces for all and advancing urban mobility through master planning to building healthier buildings and environments. Together they shared insights and inspired each other on innovative approaches and solutions for cities that are people-centred, resilient, and attractive. A few key takeaways from the discussions: 🔷 Bridging sustainability with quality of life is more relevant than ever 🔷 Architecture and mobility solutions are much more than buildings – it minimises barriers and connect citizens, creating happiness amongst the people 🔷 Designing an irresistible circular society where beauty and aesthetics also focus on human needs is very much desired These insights remind us of the transformative power of intentional design and architecture to turn urban challenges into opportunities, fostering social connection, promoting environmental responsibility, and boosting economic vitality. Both also the great possibilities international collaboration and partnership can play in solving global challenges together. The event is organised by Denmark in the UK together with partners Glasgow City Council, Stirling Council, Scottish Cities Alliance, State of Green Denmark, and Creative Denmark #LetCreativityDrive #QualityOfLife #Architecture René Dinesen, Rasmus Leth Traberg, Jacob Kvetny, Caroline Thomsen, Jakob Werner, Gry Klitmose Holm, Tamsie Thomson Hon FRIBA, The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, Sarah Shaw, Etive Currie, Jacqueline Mclaren, Mairi Laverty, Collective Architecture, Becca Thomas, New Practice, Jennifer O'Donnell, O'DonnellBrown, Emma Fyvie, Siobhain Forde, Stallan-Brand The City of Edinburgh Council, Fife Hyland, Drum Property Group, Susan Aitken, Kristin Holme, Michael Ward, Chris Burrows, David Hopper, and Cameron Baillie 💙

Today marks a significant milestone in the collaboration between Scotland’s eight cities and Denmark, as Glasgow and Stirling host the Liveable City Conference, ran by the Royal Danish Embassy in London Denmark in the UK and Creative Denmark, which aims to share best practice and knowledge. Cllr Susan Aitken, Leader, Glasgow City Council, and H.E. René Dinesen, Danish Ambassador to the UK, opened proceedings, focusing on urbanism and the creation of liveable, vibrant public spaces, and our strong cultural and environmental ties, has laid the ground for an incredible day of knowledge sharing. There are still some tickets left for tomorrow's event in Stirling 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dbf3PiA