The Future of London Speaker Bank is buzzing with fresh ideas from built environment professionals who reflect the diversity of London and deserve to be heard. For National Inclusion Week, we highlight four exciting speakers with expertise in inclusive design, architecture and more.
To address the big challenges and seize opportunities in London, it’s essential that we develop creative ideas, fuelled by diverse perspectives. Future of London is committed to making sure our places are shaped and influenced by people who truly reflect London’s diversity.
Our Speaker Diversity Network promotes new, exciting voices who are determined to be heard at built environment events. To mark National Inclusion Week, we’re spotlighting some new additions to our Speaker Bank. Some of them are well seasoned practitioners flying the flag for their specialism, and some are rising stars; they all bring a fresh take on the capital’s big challenges and opportunities.
Meet Amanprit, James, Salihah and Shaun. Adding their voices to vital discussions about London’s future will lead to a richer debate. Find out what they have to say and and contact them directly via the Speaker Bank links.
How a whole-life approach is the key to designing truly accessible spaces
Amanprit Arnold, Founder, Disability Urbanism
Amanprit brings a unique lens to accessibility and inclusive urban design, combining lived experience with a deep understanding of the systems that shape cities.
For her, accessibility isn’t just about meeting regulatory standards. “It’s beyond that. It’s in investment, in leadership, in planning, in partnerships.” This thinking led her to establish her consultancy, Disability Urbanism, to address disability inclusion and accessibility at a systems level.
She encourages the sector to think across lifespans, anticipating change and designing flexible environments that remain useful over time. She argues that accessibility is not only a social imperative but also a financial and environmental one. For example, with homes – “Your needs do change over your lifetime, so why would you want to retrofit? That’s a waste of resources and emissions.”
Her varied career across policy, planning and design — including roles at the Greater London Authority and Urban Land Institute — have shaped her understanding that true inclusion demands multi-disciplinary collaboration. “It’s not necessarily just about design. It’s about partnership working and taking ideas from other sectors — cultural, technology, education, healthcare.”
Technology, in her view, is key to bridging ambition and reality. She acknowledged the reality that London is a heritage city, so access in some places may always be a challenge. “But if people could be informed about what their options are to experience a place before they even get there – that makes a space more inclusive, and technology is a core part of that.”
She also advocates for disability-owned spaces. As founder of Deaf City Hub, she is developing a mixed-use cultural space for the deaf community. Born deaf herself and active as an advocate since her teens, Amanprit explains: “Deaf City Hub is about more than just a space; it’s a movement to redefine societal norms and challenge barriers.”
Through her talks and practice, Amanprit challenges conventional approaches to inclusion, showing how flexible, system-wide design can create cities that work for everyone.
Click here to contact Amanprit for your next event.
Building more than buildings: James on architecture, ADHD, and mental health
James Thomas, Associate, Alfred Hall Monaghan Morris
With nearly 40 years in architecture — including at Zaha Hadid Architects, Foster + Partners, and now AHMM — James has worked on landmark projects worldwide, from an opera house for the King of Morocco to the BBC Television Centre in White City.
His skills span the full design process — from concept development & masterplanning to navigating the realities of construction and client management — giving him a holistic understanding of how ambitious architecture actually comes to life. “Architecture isn’t just about the sketches,” he says. “It’s about getting things built and making sure they work for people.”
James credits his ADHD for his varied repertoire, enabling him to move fluidly between big picture and detail. “I’ve always had that restless energy — moving between practices, project types, even countries,” he says. “That’s ADHD for me: bouncing between ideas, staying creative. It’s also what’s kept me engaged in architecture for nearly four decades.” This adaptability makes him effective on complex, multi-stakeholder projects where flexibility and problem-solving are essential.
What sets James apart is not only the calibre of his career but his openness about its tougher moments. “It hasn’t all been glamorous projects — there have been tough times too. But I think that’s useful for younger architects to hear: that you can get through rocky patches, and that mistakes and struggles can shape you just as much as successes.”
Mental health is another subject close to his heart. Personally affected by suicide, James is committed to bringing conversations about mental health into the industry. This May, he spoke directly to Stanhope construction workers about his experience with suicide, describing it as the most impactful experience of his career. “This is where I can really make a difference,” he says. “By showing up, being honest, and letting people know they’re not alone.”
With a career spanning iconic practices and a commitment to supporting the next generation, James bridges professional authority and human experience. He is especially interested in reaching younger professionals navigating mental health issues or neurodivergence. “If somebody can learn from my mistakes, and I can give them hope that they can do this, then that’s what I want to do.”
Find out how James can bring his expertise and openness on architecture, mental health, and neurodivergence to your next event.
Investing in communications is investing in communities
Salihah Dudha, Digital Content Coordinator, L&Q
Salihah brings creativity and lived experience to the housing sector, showing how strong communications can be a driver of real change. With a background in animation and digital design, she combines creative storytelling with a commitment to inclusion, accessibility and community voice.
For her, communication is not just about getting messages out – “It’s how you connect with people, build trust, and show the sector is listening.” And she sees creative approaches as vital to doing this well: “Good creativity means accessibility,” she explains. “It’s about making sure everyone can engage – whether that’s through subtitled videos, rethinking how we present information online, or telling stories in ways that really resonate.”
This belief runs through her work at L&Q, where she has helped grow digital channels and spearheaded campaigns such as Made in Trade, addressing the lack of women in the trade industry. “To see women step into trade apprenticeships and know we helped spark that conversation – that’s something I’m really proud of.”
As Vice Chair of Spectrum, L&Q’s LGBTQIA+ network, Salihah also champions intersectionality. Her own experience as South Asian, Muslim and queer drives her focus on layered identities: “Those crossovers matter. They change how we experience the world and what we can bring to our communities. That’s the depth I want to bring into the conversation.”
Looking ahead, she is keen to see the housing sector invest more in digital communications and create pathways for young people into public service roles. “This job changed my life. If more housing associations saw the value of strong, creative comms teams, we could connect with communities better – and open the door for others like me to bring their voice to the table.”
Through her voice and practice, Salihah shows how creativity, representation and strong communication can reframe the role of housing and inspire wider inclusion.
Click here to read more about how Salihah can contribute to your next event.
Networks, systems and strategy that make inclusion real
Shaun Kennedy, Head of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, Peabody
From the Metropolitan Police, to a healthcare charity, to now the 2nd largest housing association in the country, Shaun has spent his career understanding the systems, cultures, and structures that shape opportunity — and inequity — in organisations.
Following the murder of Stephen Lawrence, Shaun was recruited to the Met Police to deliver the Community Race Relations Training Programme to all staff. Over fourteen years, he worked directly with officers to address bias, promote fair practices, and improve organisational culture, gaining deep insight into how systems influence behaviour across large organisations.
Since leaving the Met, Shaun has applied these lessons to broader contexts, including his leadership role at Peabody. He focuses on workforce strategy, equity, and network-driven initiatives that tackle both visible and less visible barriers to progression. At Peabody, he has connected multiple diversity networks — race, gender, and ability — to identify overlapping challenges and develop collective solutions. “The collaboration between networks is starting to re-identify some kind of commonality,” he says.
Shaun’s approach is grounded in intersectionality and collaboration, recognising that employees carry multiple identities and that organisations thrive when policies respond to that complexity. He is also focused on ensuring equity strategies don’t alienate staff: “We are thinking about collecting workforce data around socio-economic background,” he explains, highlighting barriers faced by employees from less privileged backgrounds.
His perspective is informed by lived experience. As a gay man from a mixed-race background, Shaun understands subtle forms of discrimination. Reflecting on his time at the Met, he recalls, “I was with my husband two years. I would never talk about him other than with my very, very close colleagues. You’re always choosing when to out yourself.” It is with this understanding that he designs strategies that are both protective and empowering.
Shaun combines strategic thinking with practical action. He encourages organisations to rethink recruitment norms: “For many roles [in this industry], you actually don’t need a formal degree. Often very few jobs aside from quite technical ones.”
From delivering transformational training at the Met Police to driving organisational change at Peabody, Shaun brings frontline experience, strategic insight, and practical guidance — helping organisations make inclusion a lived reality.
Find out how Shaun can bring his expertise to your next event.
Thanks to L&Q and the G15, the group of London’s leading housing associations, for supporting the Future of London Speaker Bank.
