In this episode of the Grow Places Podcast, host Tom Larsson is joined by Ailish Killilea of The Townscape Consultancy, for a compelling exploration of heritage, townscape, and their roles in shaping places people want to live, work, and visit.

Ailish reflects on her journey from the west of Ireland to London’s complex urban fabric and her experiences running marathons, sharing how her fascination with human experience and design led to a career in townscape and heritage consulting. The conversation covers the nuanced balance between preservation and progress, how to assess the significance of buildings and places, and the often overlooked human side of planning — from daily commutes to moments of surprise and civic pride.

With references to cities like Barcelona, Paris, and Chicago, this episode offers insight into global approaches to urban identity and density, as well as the importance of collaborative, iterative design processes in shaping sensitive, context-aware development.

Whether you're a planner, architect, developer, or simply someone who cares about how cities evolve, this episode offers an inspiring look at how to build the future without erasing the past.

In this powerful episode of the Grow Places Podcast, Tom Larsson speaks with Pooja Agrawal, co-founder and CEO of Public Practice, a pioneering not-for-profit that places built environment professionals into local government roles to drive meaningful change.

Pooja shares her journey from growing up in Mumbai to becoming a passionate advocate for public service in the UK. She dives deep into the importance of multidisciplinary teams in local government, the challenges of resourcing in the public sector, and why empathy between public and private sectors is more vital than ever.

🔍 Episode Highlights

• How Public Practice is placing professionals into councils to close skills gaps
• The long-term value of design and spatial thinking in local government
• Why 75% of associates stay in the public sector post-placement
• The financial realities of local councils and their effect on planning
• The role of empathy in public-private collaboration
• Insights on the New Towns programme and the future of place-led development
• International perspectives: what the UK can learn from Mumbai, Denmark, and more
• Pooja’s vision for public sector confidence, leadership, and systems change

🌍 Learn more about Public Practice: https://www.publicpractice.org.uk
🎧 Listen and subscribe for more: https://www.growplaces.com/podcast

#PublicPractice #UrbanPlanning #BuiltEnvironment #PublicSector #PlaceMaking #Sustainability #NewTowns #Leadership #GrowPlaces

How do you actually deliver a school, an office, or a housing block and turn it into something extraordinary?

In this episode, Tom Larsson speaks with Paul Monaghan, co-founder of AHMM, about a career spent designing buildings that shape everyday life and the people behind them. With warmth, honesty, and a quiet determination, Paul reflects on the evolution of architecture, the joy of delivering real projects, and why staying grounded matters in an ever-changing industry.

💬 From building loyalty inside his firm to earning the trust of clients and planners, Paul shares stories of lessons learned, challenges embraced, and the belief that good design can genuinely change lives.

🏗️ “The next building we do will be the best one we do”

Whether you're in architecture, property, or simply care about how places shape people, this is a conversation worth hearing.