Defining the Built Environment Sector & its Economic Impact

Client: New London Architecture (NLA)

When the London Growth Plan omitted the built environment from its priority sectors, NLA identified a structural gap: the sector was not formally recognised within existing economic classifications. Working in partnership with GLA Economics, Polygon developed a statistically robust and defensible definition of the built environment sector, unifying construction, architecture, engineering and professional services within a coherent economic framework. This definition was then used to quantify the sector’s economic contribution accurately for the first time.

Outcome: The Built Environment Sector report launched at the London Real Estate Forum, received widespread trade press coverage, won a UKREiiF Award, and prompted a question in the House of Lords regarding the sector’s role in the national economy.

Impact: The research repositioned the built environment as an important growth industry for the UK and London. It provided NLA with the evidence base needed to promote the built environment as a recognised economic sector and underpinned a multi-month advocacy campaign.

Client testimonial: “The Built Environment Sector report has been one of the most seminal pieces of work produced by the NLA - defining for the first time the breadth and scale of the sector that we represent. This report has gone on to frame our core messaging and kickstart our campaign for government to formally define the built environment as a national growth sector.”

-Catherine Staniland, Chief Impact Officer, NLA

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