(UK) – To support London’s refreshed Good Growth by Design programme, Mayor Sadiq Khan has appointed 42 new Mayor’s Design Advocates (MDAs) – including names such as Sir David Adjaye OBE, Hanif Kara OBE, Sir David Chipperfield CBE and Farshid Moussavi OBE. The Good Growth by Design programme aims to help shape London into a better city by promoting quality and inclusion on the built environment.

MDAs are independent experts who will support the Mayor’s vision of “good growth” and will ensure that new buildings and public spaces will benefit Londoners and are at the heart of the capital’s recovery from the pandemic.

In addition to the high profile names, the newly appointed MDAs include fresh, emerging talent in the built environment space, and those who have relevant expertise in key areas such as zero-carbon and sustainability, the safety of women and girls, and housing quality. The new cohort also includes a lighting designer and night-time strategist – independent designer Satu Streatfield.

The group of 42 MDAs have experience in both the public and private sector, include practitioners, academics, policymakers, and those from community-led initiatives. 55% are women, and 45% come from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.

The new cohort will support the updated Good Growth by Design programme, which has a new forward programme responding to four years of change. The newly updated programme reflects the importance of an inclusive recovery from a pandemic that has highlighted inequalities and the need to counter racism and other forms of prejudice in the built environment.

The pandemic has also accelerated a change in the way Londoners use the city. The reconfiguration of high streets and other workspaces, as well as the urgent need to meet net zero by 2030, is also reflected in the updated Good Growth programme.

More information about the Good Growth by Design programme can be found here.