JANUARY 9, 2023—ANNOUNCEMENT
We’re excited to step into 2023 with not one, but two major announcements. Late this summer we made the decision to turn Wild Streets into a Limited company. In the last couple of years, Wild Streets has gained international attention with networks of recognised knowledge partners, collaborators, and distribution partners. As an NGO, we had the space to build Wild Streets’ novel conceptual framework along with its social and environmental value-driven objectives. The transition to a Limited company will fast-track the materialisation of this ambitious project. Together with our strategic and financial advisors, we have arrived at a sustainable business model that enables the project to stay aligned with its founding philanthropic commitments, especially to councils and not-for-profits. We’re thrilled to say that the restructuring process has been swift, and the first funding is already secured.
At the same time, we are proud to welcome Max Farrell as a Non-Executive Director. Initially a member of Wild Streets’ Placemaking Advisory Board, Max has been a long-time supporter of Wild Streets, also offering tremendous support in the organisation’s transition from an NGO to a limited company.
Max brings with him an abundance of expertise in urban planning & strategic communications. He is CEO and founder of the LDN Collective, a network of built environment experts and creatives fighting to improve people’s lives and the planet’s prospects. Before then, Max spent 10 years as a Partner at Farrells, an internationally renowned architecture, and urban design firm. He was Project Lead and Author of the Farrell Review of Architecture and the Built Environment, commissioned by the UK Government.
Max Farrell said; “I am delighted to become a Non-Exec Director for Wild Streets at this critical point in the company’s growth. As the world faces up to the biodiversity crisis, I believe this app will play a critical role in helping the public, professionals and policy makers visualise and understand the benefits of urban greening. It will encourage investment and informed decision-making, with place-based data showing the enormous benefits that green infrastructure has. We have hit the ground running, creating a strategy that will meet the significant demand already expressed for the app and its data and intelligence services”
Max channels his interest in quality placemaking through a plethora of influential positions. In 2021, he was appointed Chair of Cultural Co-Location for Creative Estuary, and in 2022, he was appointed Chair of Built Environment Policy for West London Business. He is an adviser to the Quality of Life Foundation, Urban Design London, the Place Alliance and the Urban Room Network.
We are very pleased to have someone with Max’s experience and expertise guiding the Board at Wild Streets. Ahead of us is an exciting journey, developing a tool for next-level public engagement with the right indicators to report on for meaningful planning. Max will help us understand how to work efficiently with the many players involved in urban placemaking, to create even more impactful products and services.