Pedestrianising Oxford Street: turning commercial success into public value

As almost a kilometre of London's most famous shopping street prepares to go traffic-free, Professor Samer Bagaeen, Head of Town Planning, explores why its future depends on experience, attachment and…

Do you have to be rich to be green?

By Jordan Turner Senior lecturer in Real Estate From solar panels and heat pumps to electric vehicles and eco-friendly home renovations, many of the measures we associate with greener living…

Professor Ashley Wheaton

‘Survive or thrive?’ Professor Ashley Wheaton calls for radical rethink of UK higher education

As he prepares to step down as Vice Chancellor of the University of the Built Environment, Professor Ashley Wheaton used his inaugural professorial lecture to deliver a frank assessment of…

Who stole Toad Hall? A curious case of adverse possession - Dominic Bottone - Illustration by Arthur Rackham for Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows (1940). Public domain.

Who stole Toad Hall? A curious case of adverse possession

What do Mr Toad, a gang of unruly weasels and English property law have in common? BSc (Hons) Building Surveying senior lecturer Dominic Bottone revisits Kenneth Grahame's much-loved classic to explore…

Professor Sadie Morgan OBE: ‘Let’s bring a bit of joy back in our lives’

Professor Sadie Morgan OBE: ‘Let’s bring a bit of joy back in our lives’

By Linda Serck Standfirst: From transforming Hastings Pier to championing design at the highest levels of government, Professor Sadie Morgan OBE has spent more than three decades arguing that better…

Buildings surveyor - University of the Built Environment

Surveying and building conservation: the responsibility to exercise judgement

  From heritage significance and carbon reduction to accessibility, viability and new technology, Associate Professor David Hourihan, Head of School – Real Estate and Innovation, argues that building conservation depends…

Trespassers W: what Winnie the Pooh can teach us about access rights in construction - University of the Built Environment - Dominic Bottone

Trespassers W: what Winnie-the-Pooh can teach us about access rights in construction

By Dominic Bottone Senior lecturer, BSc (Hons) Building Surveying To those of you brought up on Winnie-the-Pooh, you will know that Piglet lived in a tree and next to his…

A proposed scheme offering first-time buyers the chance to purchase a new-build home with just a 2.5% deposit sounds attractive. But Jordan Turner argues that beneath the headline figure, familiar problems around affordability, equity loans and long-term repayments remain. University of the Built Environment

Help to Buy version 2? Good intentions but flawed beneath the surface

A proposed scheme offering first-time buyers the chance to purchase a new-build home with just a 2.5% deposit sounds attractive. But Jordan Turner, senior lecturer in Real Estate at the…

From fishing-net carpets to toilet twinning: are we the most sustainable university in the world?

By Linda Serck and Kathy Matthews Ten years after our Reading office achieved a BREEAM Excellent rating, just how far has the University of the Built Environment gone in making…

Donald Trump

Donald Trump and the case law of the Carbolic Smoke Ball

By Jason Phelps Built Environment Senior Lecturer This article examines the legal principles of contract formation and what is required to create a binding agreement between two parties. These foundational…

Construction adjudication enforcement in 2026: Key court decisions

By Associate Professor James Beckwith Programme Lead, LLM Construction Law As we reach the conclusions of 2026, we can look back and see that the last two years saw numerous…

Commerial Payment Bill article - James Beckwith, University of the Built Environment

Commercial Payments Bill: What the proposed reforms could mean for UK construction

By Associate Professor James Beckwith Programme Lead, LLM Construction Law   The UK Government's proposed Commercial Payments Bill seeks to tackle late payment practices that have long affected businesses across…