Future of Urban Regeneration: An interview with Rahul Patalia

Currently working on major redevelopment projects in London, Rahul Patalia shares his thoughts on what the wider built environment sector can learn from urban regeneration when it comes to making places.

Global | 01 August 2024
Reading Time : 7 minutes

What does urban regeneration mean to you?

Urban regeneration brings together all the facets the built environment needs to make a positive contribution to society, weaving together physical assets with the environmental and social aspects. Buildings are empty without people and people need more than just buildings. For a space to grow and develop into a place, people need jobs, education, and social infrastructure.

In the past, urban regeneration often meant rebuilding neighborhoods without consulting local people. In the process, many years of community development were demolished too along with the buildings. Through trial and error, the sector has learnt and gained a better understanding of the importance of engaging with established communities.

Working in the urban regeneration sector has helped me realize that whilst I’m an engineer, the greatest value I have to offer is integrating all the various disciplines that go into delivering successful projects.

What can the wider built environment industry learn from urban regeneration?

The multifaceted, collaborative approach taken by urban regeneration is an opportunity to solve challenges from a social and environmental point of view, as well as a technical one.

The 2019 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was a turning point. When it comes to sustainability, it’s no longer enough to just do less harm to the environment. We need to be regenerative and put back more than we take out. Be kinder to our planet.

In urban regeneration, everything we build needs to have a positive social and environmental value, and that’s becoming true for the wider built environment. For example, there’s a lot more focus on improving air quality in buildings, reducing embodied carbon through reuse, using carbon-positive biogenic materials such as timber, and enhancing natural habitats for biodiversity.

How did you become an engineer?

I studied Civil engineering at the University of Bath. At first I thought I wanted to be a surveyor as I really enjoyed maths, physics and geography at school and loved architecture. It was two brilliant visiting lecturers, Ted Happold and Max Fordham, who inspired me to become an engineer. I learnt about the history of engineering from Ted, and fluid mechanics and mechanical and electrical engineering from Max. But beyond that, I was encouraged by their love of engineering. What I really enjoyed was bringing ideas to life, problem solving and collaborating to create something tangible.

More recently, I completed a Masters in Construction Engineering (CEM) from the University of Cambridge – a part-time degree program exploring the widely recognized challenges facing the construction sector and how to tackle them. This broadened my horizons and gave me a better understanding of the wider influences and drivers shaping the industry.

Have you always worked in urban regeneration?

After graduating, I joined a medium-sized engineering consultancy in London. I was instantly drawn by the opportunity to experience a diverse array of projects and worked on everything from out-of-town offices to city centre refurbishments and industrial sites. I ended up staying for 25 years, initially becoming a chartered structural engineer, and developing the firm’s specialism in urban regeneration and then going on to become a partner.

My first major urban regeneration project was the regeneration of Bermondsey Spa in Southwark. As someone who has lived in London all my life, it was a real eye-opener. It made me realize that structural engineering goes beyond physical buildings. It’s about creating places and homes for people who need them: places with purpose.

I believe that as engineers, we have an obligation to help create a better society for everyone and see the beauty of places beyond the bricks and mortar.

Rahul Patalia

United Kingdom

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Rahul was involved in the redevelopment of the Alma Estate in North London.

Can you explain more about your role at WSP and the projects you’re working on?

My role involves helping to shape and augment our credibility and capability in the urban regeneration sector. We focus on public sector-led projects with a vision for bringing long-term social and environmental benefits.

Currently, our integrated interdisciplinary engineers are helping to regenerate the Brookhill Estate in Woolwich, Greater London, which will include energy-efficient homes, affordable housing, and communal, green, open spaces. Working with the developer/contractor Wates Residential we’ve been supporting the detailed design phase of the project. We’re also looking at opportunities to deliver social value by supporting STEM education in nearby schools and providing engineering work placements for local people.

Another project we’ve recently commenced is the redevelopment of the Alma Estate in Ponders End, for the London Borough of Enfield in partnership with Countryside Partnerships. When complete, the regeneration will include affordable homes connected to the Ponders End heat network for low carbon heating and hot water, new retail units, and community facilities from a medical centre to a youth centre and gym. The project also includes a new station square, connecting Alma to the nearby railway station.

We’re also working on the exciting new regeneration of Bow Goods Yard, a strategic industrial site owned by Network Rail, next to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, London. We’re currently helping to explore masterplan options for the site which could include a mix of industrial, leisure and commercial uses. The project vision is to create an enhanced freight facility which provides an interconnected system of supporting ecologies based on logistics, circularity, creativity and community, appraised through the regenerative design framework. As part of that, the team has helped to develop a unique assessment criteria to appraise each option for things like resource management, biodiversity and social equity. There are lots of tools for assessment but seemingly none that respond holistically to the environmental and social impacts associated with masterplanning in the context of urban regeneration.

Visualisation of the planned masterplan at Bow Goods Yard

Visualization of the planned masterplan at Bow Goods Yard

What excites you about the future of the built environment?

What’s exciting is seeing a new generation coming through and their passion for making a positive social and environmental impact on the world.

As individuals, we’re becoming more aware of our legacy and the footprint we’re leaving on the earth. As engineers, we can design and build safer, healthier, more sustainable and connected places for people and communities.

Technology can also enhance urban regeneration if we embrace it in the right way. It has already changed how we design buildings. Now we model, rather than draw – which gives us the information we need to design more efficient, better integrated and sustainable buildings. Sensors are also helping us manage and optimize building performance and proactively plan upgrades and refurbishments. All this can make a positive, regenerative impact and make people’s lives more comfortable, affordable and secure.

What do you think makes a place and where’s your favorite place?

People make places. As engineers, we can do our best to design spaces in a way that enhances social cohesion and mobility. When we do that and communities develop and grow, we’ve helped to create a place.

London is my favorite place – I love the dynamic way it evolves and the richness of life here. The old city and the newer buildings, and the multiculturism with different people who have settled here for generations, helping to create such a rich tapestry of diverse communities. A place where life and community take over is always positive, but I’d like to see more emphasis on how biodiversity can be better integrated to create an environment where all living systems survive, thrive and co-evolve. A vibrant city lives and breathes through nature, as well as people.