ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS
Knowledge sharing is the key to greener urban spaces
Urban spaces are increasingly being built with close consideration of the environment and sustainability. That means taking steps during the planning and design phases to see where’s it’s possible to reduce waste, recycle more, lower emissions, increase the amount of open spaces and draw on sustainable suppliers. Adam Smolyar, chief marketing and technology officer, Urban Land Institute explains how
W
ith a climate crisis on our hands and a global ambition to achieve Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050, it’s no surprise that architects, developers and
town planners are adapting to develop towns and cities that champion renewable energy and reduce pollution. Urban Land Institute (ULI) is a global, non-
profit education and research organisation which hopes to support these goals and positively influence the future of built environments worldwide.
The power of knowledge sharing
In 1654, London’s famous fruit and vegetable market opened in Covent Garden. The market has since moved, and the original site has been transformed into one of the most successful urban re-generation and heritage preservation examples in the world. Six thousand miles away, developers in China are using the Covent Garden story to learn how to protect cultural heritage in Shanghai. Covent Garden is just one of the many success stories that has been brought to life and shared across the globe by ULI via its Knowledge Finder website, powered by Sitecore. In fact, ULI has a portfolio of content, made up of over 10,000 assets including books, case studies, courses, podcasts, reports, videos, virtual tours, and webinars.
The company sees knowledge sharing as a key tenet of its ethos to improve urban living. Through their website, they offer real-world experiences, best practices, lessons learned, and recommendations to solving complex land use issues, including the delicate tension between preserving and repurposing important heritage sites.
ULI is using technology to bridge knowledge and geographical gaps and help communities around the world learn from each other. For example, if a city planner is challenged with a waterlogged city, he could explore how Amsterdam has been handling this for centuries.
Climate, housing, and future builders
Urban Land Institute has set out to achieve three key goals:
• drive urban decarbonisation and make progress towards net-zero urban environments
• increase housing affordability and attainability
• foster the next generation of future builders.
Technology is integral to achieving these aims, as it can be used to collate and disseminate knowledge, examples and best practice about the above areas, and make information more accessible. Using Sitecore’s technology, ULI has been able to create it’s Knowledge Finder site to do exactly this. For example, its Greenprint Center for Building Performance is comprised of measurable steps that can be taken to improve the environment through energy efficiency, and this can be accessed by members worldwide through the Knowledge Finder. Thanks to the design of the site and the marketing of its appeal, ULI has seen a 400% increase in visitors to the Knowledge Finder website in just one year. Users have been spending on average almost 10 minutes per session, nearly five times longer than before. Perhaps most importantly, 70% of users are
returning to the site each month, demonstrating that they are finding what they’re looking for, consuming the content that is most useful and relevant to them at that time, and then returning to find out more.
The importance of relevant, personalised content
In the past, many of the company’s assets weren’t digitised, and were spread across over 100 web properties. This made it challenging for members to find the content they needed, but with Sitecore’s help ULI has built a digital platform that offers members a more
Adam Smolyar of the Urban Land Institute
enjoyable, intuitive, and scalable search and browsing experience.
Beyond that, content has also been tailored and personalised to members. The site already had strong profiles which include specific interests, and these have now been augmented with a better understanding of onsite journeys and behaviour, to deliver highly accurate, personalised content to each individual. A predictive search engine powered by AI and machine learning helps members find the most relevant industry knowledge from thousands of resources. For example, as autonomous vehicles play a bigger role in real estate activities around the world, Sitecore ensures that the Knowledge Finder recognises same-meaning terms such as driverless cars, as well as the next ‘phrase du jour’. Building on the back of personalisation, Sitecore’s data analytics capabilities coupled with email marketing tools enable ULI to deliver personalised, automated email campaigns to members based on content consumed and their browsing history. Members receive a personalised monthly digest of topics and content-types that match their interests, including segmentation by degree of member engagement. Sustainability will continue to play a pivotal
role in shaping future cities and urban developments. Organisations such as the Urban Land Institute have a key role to play in highlighting issues like climate change and affordable housing, as well as the importance of embracing innovative thinking and developing new talent. Being able to collate and share the most relevant information across the world plays a significant role in this, and technology is key in facilitating it. By amplifying the trends, innovations, technologies, and solutions communities need, it will be possible to shape the future of the built environment and create a better future for communities worldwide.
8 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER MAY 2022 Read the latest at:
www.bsee.co.uk
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