Founder Inverview: Arthur Kay

“Every journey begins with a single step,” is a clanging cliché of entrepreneurship. It’s also, like most clichés, completely and utterly true. The quickest and most reliable way to fail in any enterprise is by never starting, that first mental (and sometimes physical) hurdle that so many would-be founders never quite leap over. This founder took that step with purpose, venturing into an uncertain and complex field with a blend of courage and conviction. Here, they share their approach to creativity, what keeps them optimistic about the future, and what progress truly means.

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Arthur Kay is an urban designer, entrepreneur, academic and advisor to various organisations focused on building sustainable cities, including Transport for London, the Royal Academy of Engineering and Innovo Group. He founded Skyroom, a company that creates affordable homes in the airspace above existing buildings in London, and he is the co-author of Roadkill: Unveiling the True Cost of Our Toxic Relationship with Cars.

Cities, like London, are full of empty roofspace (the airspace above buildings). Instead of sprawling outwards, we asked: how can we use the city’s airspace to create homes where people actually need them?

To turn underused or ‘wasted’ space in our cities, and into affordable, sustainable homes for key workers. Cities only work if the people who sustain them can still afford to live in them.

Cities shape how billions live, work, and connect. Done badly, they are polluted and unequal. Done well, they can be incredible places to live.

At my first start-up, Bio-bean, I learned that bold ideas are important, but persistence and pragmatism are what deliver impact.

How do you make cities liveable, exciting, safe, inspiring, clean, prosperous, affordable places to live? Cleaner air, better homes, shorter commutes and making use of ‘waste’ leads to communities that are happier and have more disposable income.

Making life in cities better. As with progress it has many metrics, but it needs to be felt by the people who live there, as well as the statistics.

By being clear about why we exist. Keeping it clear and simple. The ‘why’ does not change, even as projects grow more complex.

Start with a problem you care about, gather a team who care too, and be prepared to play the long game. Keep asking simple, almost naïve questions. They often lead to the best ideas.

I wrote Roadkill with the eminent anthropologist and philosopher Professor Dame Henrietta Moore. We wanted to expose how our dependency on cars has quietly stripped away fundamental freedoms. It has cost us more than we realise. We go into detail in the book about how we lost those freedoms over time, and how we can work together to reclaim them and expand them.

“Today’s young people see the car as an unnecessary expense, and in London that’s almost certainly true.” This may sound unlikely from Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson. But, he’s right. Car ownership is already starting to decline for younger generations. For a host of factors, they are choosing to walk, cycle, and share transport rather than sit in traffic. That gives me hope. If we can accelerate this shift, our cities will be cleaner, safer, and more enjoyable places to live.

For helping to challenge our toxic relationship with cars.

From my collaborator and friend, Lewis: “Put yourself in harm’s way.” You don’t innovate or challenge the status quo by playing it safe all the time.

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