The built environment is still rarely recognised as a single, strategic sector within Government economic strategy. A new report from New London Architecture (NLA), produced in partnership with GLA ECONOMICS, titled Connected Capital: Londan and the World’s Built Environment, makes the case for change.

In the report, Nick McKeogh, Chief Executive & Co-founder, New London Architecture (NLA), commented: London’s built environment sector is one of the UK’s most powerful — yet consistently underestimated — drivers of economic growth.

The NLA’s recent publication, The Built Environment Sector, showed the sector contributes £568 billion to national GVA — almost a quarter of the UK economy — and supports 3.8 million jobs, or one in eight across the country. By comparison, Finance and Insurance contributes £214 billion to national GVA.

Yet despite being collectively far larger, the built environment is still rarely recognised as a single, strategic sector within Government economic strategy.

Connected Capital shows that the built environment is not simply an enabler of growth for other industries, but a globally traded, high-value growth sector in its own right. In 2023, UK built environment industries exported more than £168 billion of goods and services — around one fifth of all UK exports. That exceeds exports from Finance and Insurance, which generate around £120 billion annually.

Demand will only grow. The world’s urban population stood at 2.3 billion in 1980 and is expected to exceed 9 billion by 2080. The need to plan, finance, design and deliver sustainable cities and infrastructure will shape global economic development for decades — and the UK is uniquely positioned to lead that transition.

These figures place the built environment among the UK’s most internationally competitive industries, yet it still lacks equivalent strategic recognition.

London sits at the heart of this success. It is a global hub for city making expertise and a gateway through which capital, talent, and ideas flow into the UK and out to the world. Firms based here deliver complex projects across Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia, drawing on experience developed in one of the world’s most demanding urban environments. From regeneration and infrastructure to sustainability and low-carbon transition, London has become a proving ground for solutions now exported worldwide.

And this international success strengthens the whole country.

Regional centres across the UK host world-class expertise, while London connects that capability to global clients and capital. Investment, skills development, and supply-chain activity generated through London projects support jobs and productivity across the UK. This is not a zero sum relationship. It is mutually reinforcing.

Yet, the sector still lacks a clear champion in Government.

Responsibility remains fragmented, and the built environment is too often treated as disconnected industries rather than a single strategic whole. At a time when ambitions for growth, housing delivery, infrastructure renewal, and net zero all depend on this sector, that disconnect is no longer sustainable.

The NLA is calling for Government to recognise the built environment as one sector — collectively the largest contributor to the UK economy and central to national growth and prosperity. Recognising it within the Industrial Strategy as an additional growth sector would unlock the sector’s full potential, enabling clearer leadership, stronger coordination across Government and more effective support for firms competing internationally.

This publication sits at the heart of the NLA’s Built World Exchange network. Through research, convening, international engagement and advocacy, we are strengthening London’s global networks and championing the expertise that allows UK firms to succeed at home and abroad. From The London Centre to our programme of international partnerships — and the launch of the Built World Summit at Guildhall in 2026 — we are committed to making the sector’s contribution visible and valued.

London has the expertise, talent, and global reach to help shape the cities of the future. The challenge now is not capability, but recognition and action. If the UK is serious about growth, resilience and long-term prosperity, the built environment can no longer remain hidden in plain sight. It must be placed where it belongs — at the centre of the nation’s economic strategy.

This publication forms part of a wider NLA campaign to strengthen London’s global networks, promote its built environment leadership, and support the sector’s contribution to national economic growth. Our report, The Built Environment Sector argues that the built environment should no longer be treated simply as an enabler of other industries but recognised as a high-growth sector in its own right within the UK’s Industrial Strategy, infrastructure delivery programmes, and Local Growth Plans. Reframing the sector in this way would help unlock its full potential, enabling coordinated policy, taxation, education, and skills reform that reflects its true scale, strategic importance, and impact on everyday life. Metro Mayors are similarly encouraged to recognise the built environment as a priority sector in their regional growth strategies.

The built environment underpins the functioning of the UK economy.

It shapes the places where innovation clusters emerge, where advanced industries grow, and where investment and talent flow. Responsibility for the sector is dispersed across multiple Government departments, and the consequences are visible in persistent shortages across construction, planning, design, and low-carbon skills — precisely the capabilities required to deliver the UK’s growth, productivity, and net-zero ambitions.

The Connected Capital: London and the World’s Built Environment report

This report distinguishes between two closely related but distinct dynamics. First, London’s role as a global centre of built environment expertise — acting as a platform through which skills, knowledge, capital, and professional services circulate internationally on behalf of the wider UK economy. Second, the national economic, social, and skills value generated by that global role, as investment, projects, and expertise anchored in London flow through supply chains, labour markets, and regional economies across the UK. The case studies are presented not as isolated examples, but as evidence of how London’s international position translates into tangible benefits for places and people nationwide.

Following the insights from the NLA’s publications Skills for Places and The Built Environment Sector, this report explores the international reach and export value of London’s expertise.

Through data analysis and a showcase of global projects, this publication evidences London’s leadership to international investors and policymakers while equipping the sector with a stronger narrative to articulate its value. In doing so, it reinforces London’s role as a world leading exporter of built environment expertise and as a global capital shaping the cities of the future.

The report covers:

Chapter 1 London as a global centre of city-making expertise: London’s role in global city-making is underpinned by a set of clear strengths: a large concentration of leading built environment firms and professional services, world-class universities, design talent shaped by dynamic cultural and creative industries, international transport links, and a track record of delivering complex projects.

Chapter 2 How does London’s built environment sector benefit the UK?: London’s built environment sector drives UK growth by attracting international capital and acting as a gateway through which regional skills, firms and national supply chains access global opportunities. London amplifies regional capability, returning investment and productivity to the wider economy, anchoring long-term growth across cities and regions beyond the capital.

Chapter 3 What makes London’s city-making expertise distinct?: London’s city-making expertise is defined by a highly international talent base, long term placemaking, climate-focused digital innovation skills, and partnership-led delivery across public and private sectors, enabling the capital to test and scale complex regeneration, retrofit and resilience models that are adopted by cities worldwide.

Chapter 4 How can London unlock its built environmental potential?: Aligned national and local decision-making, regulatory clarity, coordinated international advocacy and a unified sector voice are central to unlocking London’s next phase of built environment growth, ultimately improving investor confidence, supporting SMEs, attracting talent and reinforcing the capital as a global hub for city-making expertise.

Chapter 5 Our actions: How will the NLA champion London as a global connected capital?

Key findings of the report:

  • Global economic impact: The built environment sector is a major driver of UK economic growth, with exports exceeding £168 billion annually.
  • London’s role: London functions as a central hub connecting global capital, talent, and knowledge to international projects.
  • Sector scope: The report aims to get the built environment recognised as a single, strategic national growth sector in UK policy, rather than just an enabler of growth for other industries.
  • Job creation: The sector contributes £568 billion to national GVA and supports 3.8 million jobs.
  • Key projects: The report features various international case studies, including the Sea Breeze masterplan in Baku by Scott Brownrigg and Hage in Sweden by Brendeland & Kristoffersen Architects.

The findings will help inform discussions at the Built World Summit at Guildhall (29 June – 1 July 2026), bringing together global leaders to explore the future of city-making and the international role of London’s built environment sector.

To download the report in full visit: https://nla.london/insights/connected-capital