Rethinking Housing: Debt, Investment & Innovation for a Sustainable Future

Rethinking Housing: Debt, Investment & Innovation for a Sustainable Future

We’re delighted to invite Kellogg students, colleagues and the general public to a special collaborative event, organised by Kellogg student Benjamin G Millan (MBA, Saïd Business School) and Meric Eren (MSt History of Design).

How do we make housing truly affordable and sustainable? While financial investment is essential, are we relying too heavily on debt-driven models that deepen inequality rather than solve the housing crisis?

This event will explore the intersection of finance, entrepreneurship, technology, and participatory approaches to housing, challenging conventional models and showcasing innovative solutions from around the world.

The conversation will be chaired by Arthur Kay, entrepreneur, urban designer, and leading voice on sustainable cities, and will feature a panel of experts from venture capital, real estate, proptech, and housing policy.

Chaired by:

Arthur Kay is an entrepreneur, urban designer, and advisor building solutions for sustainable cities. He is the founder of Skyroom; The Key Worker Homes Fund; and Bio-bean.

Arthur is an Honorary Associate Professor at UCL. He is a Board Member of the Museum of the Home; and Fast Forward 2030. He is co-author of the forthcoming book Roadkill: Unveiling the True Cost of Our Toxic Relationship with Cars (Wiley, 2025).

Panellists:

• Ian Pritchett is the Co-founder of Greencore. He is now the Innovation Director. Ian is a physics graduate with over 35 years’ experience in specialist construction, who has been pioneering low carbon buildings for the last 20 years.
• Gee Sinha is the founder of ReSpace Projects, an award-winning initiative transforming empty buildings into community assets. With a background in design, construction, and social enterprise, she champions circular urban regeneration and equitable access to space.
• Sara Wahedi is the CEO and founder of Civaam, a civic-tech platform providing real-time crisis alerts in high-risk environments. With a background in urban studies and architecture, she integrates AI, civic participation, and design thinking to build technologies that help cities respond to crises, highlighting how conflict, instability, and infrastructure breakdowns directly impact housing systems and urban resilience.

About the event partners:

• Oxford Edge opened in early 2025 at 37 St Giles, and provides a new state of the art facility exists to educate, inspire and empower the next generation of student entrepreneurs from across the entire University of Oxford. The centre was established by Christ Church
• Oxford Entrepreneurs is the largest entrepreneurship society in Europe, with 12,000 Oxford University Members and more than 65,000 network members.
• Fast Forward 2030 UK is a London-based community of impact entrepreneurs that hosts bi-monthly events to support innovation and peer-to-peer learning for entrepreneurs committed to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We aim to inspire sustainable prosperity by bringing together entrepreneurs, investors, sustainability professionals, students, and academics.

This event is open to ALL and FREE to Kellogg College and University of Oxford affiliates with the code SAID. Follow the link below to book your place via Eventbrite registration.

Open to: Graduate students Oxford University, Members of Kellogg College, Oxford University members,