Dr Gemma Burgess is Acting Director of the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research at the University of Cambridge, where she leads a multidisciplinary team working on policy-oriented research projects for a wide variety of funders, including central and local government, industry and third sector bodies.

Widely published, Gemma’s research interests include land supply and the delivery of housing through the planning system, housing and health inequality, and the relationship between housing and ageing. She is currently the principal investigator on a research project looking at how smart technologies can support wellbeing and independent living for older people.

Gemma recently led the Digital Built Britain Housing Network, which established a research framework to challenge and influence social policy and government and industry thinking on the use of digital tools in the UK house building industry. She is now a research lead for the national £72 million Construction Innovation Hub, working with the Cambridge Centre for Digital Built Britain.