A 2008 report by the United Nation’s stated that half the world’s population lived in cities. Since then, that percentage has risen, and now the majority of people live in urban areas rather than rural ones. However a report from the New Economics Foundation found that those living in cities had a significantly lower level of well-being than inhabitants of close-knit, rural communities.

So how can we build that sense of community in an urban environment? On Tuesday the 19th February our Protein Forum will investigate the ideas that are rethinking the urban landscape and city life. We'll explore how projects are trying to re-connect local communities and instill a sense of place and identity into different parts of the city.

The first of our guest speakers will be Tom Tobia from Assemble and Join. An organisation based near Waterloo that, with funding from Lambeth council, aims to help local residents and businesses build and repair products in their workshop-cum-cafe. The project offers its community the chance to build and directly improve the area it inhabits.

The second is Chris Gourlay, CEO and founder of Spacehive, an initiative that operates very much like Kickstarter, but instead of funding business ventures, Spacehive gives people the chance to propose and donate to public projects that improve their neighbourhood.

The final guest speaker will be Ben Barker of Pan Studio, a production studio that recently won the Bristol’s Playable City Award with their proposed Hello Lamp Post! project that made everyday city structures, postboxes, bus stops, streetlights, contactable via text message and gave the streets a personality.

Each speaker will give a short presentation before it opens out into a Q&A and discussion. Tickets are only £5 and include beer so book now to secure your place!

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