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2010/11
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OUR SUPPORTERS
PLACEmaking 2010/11 explores best practice in local and regional placemaking involvement,
participation and empowerment, discusses the solutions toconsultation fatigue and considers
new models for expressing and acting upon the views and motivations of local communities
passing genuine power down the line.
The creation of better places goes way beyond planning and design. It relates to selecting our
options for living, working, shopping, getting around, meeting up and relaxing. It is rooted in
control and empowerment. Place matters. And it will be through supporting community
involvement in the development of places that the big society will take shape, enabling
communities to design, invest in and manage their own places.
A new era of people-led place shaping will impact on design, delivery and democracy across
neighbourhoods, towns and cities. The issues are complex: working towards place-based
budgeting, investing in skills development, enabling access to evidence bases, information and
tools, and supporting social inclusion.
We will need new practical and professional skillsets, innovative land ownership, development
and funding models, improved networks for knowledge-sharing, and effective methods of
measuring and evaluating success and of learning from mistakes and failures.We also need
genuine partnerships between local authorities and grassroots activists, and the willingness to
put real power in new places.
Place-shaping in a new era of civic accountability
Were all in it together, says Prime Minister Cameron.The only problem is that some of us
may never be able to get out, quipped one wag on a recent radio panel show. Sad to say, he
might well be right. Although we are entering a phase where government, professionals,
practitioners, community activists and policymakers all claim to be on the same page when it
comes to creating places that work for people, the ongoing spectre of weak economies and
struggling currencies still haunts millions of people around the world who are living in
environments that see little prospect of regeneration any time soon.
We may well say that people are no longer mere consumers of urban space, but are now
participants in placemaking, but will the proposed extension of participation reach past the
demands of ROI, past the challenges of partnership working, and connect with those who
yearn for change and who have creative ideas about how to drive place-based innovation,
given the right kind of support and resource.
The coalition government has demonstrated its commitment to raise the status and
significance of community-led responsibility, as it asks both professionals and the public to
step forward and fill the gap left by a retreating state. But do we really have the the necessary
mindset and the tools, skills and experience to do the job? How will professionals and activists
involved in the making of better places rise to this fundamental challenge?
Participation, consultation and involvement have been concepts espoused in the planning and
neighbourhood management fields for many years. But have they been seriously embraced by
professionals and political leaders and will they be this time around? Critics say they that
engagement practices are often used as a fig leaf to support decisions made within traditional
establishment and organisational structures. How do we change this suspicion?
1
FOREWORD
Juliana ORourke | Editor
THE ART OF MAKING PLACES
CONTENTS
DESIGN &
DELIVERY
NEW
COMMUNITIES
EXISTING
COMMUNITIES
ENGAGING
COMMUNITIES &
STAKEHOLDERS
PUBLIC SPACES,
PUBLIC PLACES
EDITORIAL
Juliana ORourke, Editor
E: juliana@rudi.net
CONTRIBUTORS
Robert Cowan | Tom Evans
Peter Stonham | Tom Moore
Biljana Savic | Emily Berwyn
Julian Hart | John Brown
Suzanna Pembroke
PUBLISHER
PLACEmaking is published annually
by RUDI Ltd (Resource for Urban
Design Information)
ISBN: 978-1-899650-66-8
REGISTERED OFFICE
Apollo House, 359 Kennington Lane,
London SE11 5QY
Registration Number: 768 3671 83
T: 0845 270 7894
Individual copies: 20
T; 0845 270 7894 E: info@rudi.net
DESIGN & PRODUCTION
Natalie Clarke
E: production@landor.co.uk
Cover image: Graylingwell Park
carbon neutral community,
courtesy John Thompson & Partners.
Developers: Linden Homes and
Downland Housing Association/Affinity
Sutton. Proposals were developed by
a team led by JohnThompson &
Partners, with Joachim Eble Architektur,
Studio Engleback andWSP
01 02 03 04 05
Foreword 1
RUDI: knowledge-sharing
and networking 3
Large scale urban design 4
Dimensions of a sustainable
city 8
A strategic approach to
local character 12
The delivery models are
broken... 16
Demistifying design appraisal 18
Delivering a carbon neutral
community 20
Community-focused
urban development 23
Enabling communities to
deliver their own futures 26
Information, individuality
and identity 30
Re-engineering the city:
invisible infrastructure 33
Creative and critical: breaking
boundaries in Bristol 36
Learning to love shared
space 39
Real placemaking? Yes we can 44
Presenting the city:
3D imaging 48
Testing the future 52
Not a waste of space... 55
Open source placemaking 58
From town to active city 60
A world class waterfront 62
2010/11
Much more than a website, RUDI facilitates communication across
different media, linking the community of placemakers via online
and offline networks. Via discussion events, seminars, conferences,
publications, training sessions, web events and multimedia, RUDI
takes a creative approach to knowledge exchange.
RUDI has more than a decade of experience. It is independent,
international, authoritative, inspiring and highly regarded by its
target audience, regularly receiving messages of appreciation.
RUDI supports and promotes a cross-disciplinary approach to
quality placemaking as well as playing a key role in educating a
wider group of current and new generation placemaking
professionals. RUDI works closely with its sister organisation,
TransportXtra, which includes publications Transport and the
Urban Environment, Local Transport Today and New Transit, plus a
major portfolio of more than 30 urbanism, transport and
modelling-related events each year.A new initiative for 2010 has
been TransportXtras Efficiency Network, a resource and
discussion forum for professionals at thesharp end of reshaping
transport service delivery with reduced funding.
RUDI:AN INDEPENDENTVIEW BASED ON SHAREDVISION
Theoriginal RUDI online resource, since its establishment over 13
years ago, has grown progressively to hold a wealth of information
and is supported by its expanding membership network, which
contributes ideas, experience and best practice. In a market with
many voices, including government, campaigning agencies and
interest groups, promoting a diverse and sometimes conflicting
range of policies, perspectives and agendas, RUDI continues to
provide an independent view based on shared vision.
RUDI welcomes new partners who share its aims and mission:
to develop long-term, supportive relationships of mutual benefit in
the cause of the better design, management and equitable use of
the built environment.
The Resource for Urban Design Information (RUDI) main areas
of activity include:
www.rudi.net an established not for profit web-based
resource dedicated to urban design, development and
placemaking
www.urbandesignjobs.com a recruitment platform providing
a cost effective solution to finding staff with core skills
a series of placemaking-related knowledge sharing and
networking events and conferences
http://www.rudi.net/urban_design_update/events
tailored training courses, study tours and CPD development
http://www.rudi.net/urban_design_update/skills_and_training
a range of specialist publications including PLACEmaking,
Technology, space and place and Transport and the Urban
Environment http://www.rudi.net/reading_room/bookshop
a publishing/content creation and dissemination service
spanning print, web, photography and multimedia.
oo
RUDI: KNOWLEDGE-SHARINGAND
NETWORKING FOR PLACEMAKERS
RUDI the Resource for Urban Design Information is an established international information and knowledge-sharing
network for the placemaking professions. Its core aim is to promote best practice in urban design and development, and to
facilitate the sharing of information between an ever-expanding circle of professionals involved in making better places.
RUDI and partners are pioneering knowledge exchange and good practice through publications, events, exhibitions and
via an online knowledge exchange platform, rudi.net
3
Support the RUDI mission
and join the network today
To find out more about RUDI, or
to discuss partnership
opportunities, please visit
www.rudi.net and
www.TransportXtra.com
CONTACT DETAILS:
juliana@rudi.net
or call 0845 270 7857
To register for a trial of the
resources and to join the
network, please visit
www.rudi.net/user/register
01
DESIGN &
DELIVERY
04 DESIGNATTHE LARGE
SCALE COUNTS MORE
THAN EVER
08 DIMENSIONS OF A
SUSTAINABLE
COMMUNITY
12 A STRATEGICAPPROACH
TO LOCAL CHARACTER
DESIGNATTHE LARGE SCALE
COUNTS MORETHAN EVER
Regional strategies are out under the governments new planning system
but theres still a major role for cross-boundary working. Biljana Savic,
senior design advisor at CABE, offers a way forward for large-scale projects
Despite the removal of the regional tier and the emphasis on
community-driven decisions in the current overhaul of planning
policy, local authorities will still need to collaborate across
boundaries on some issues. CABEs recent research, Getting the
big picture right, explores ways of tackling issues that cannot be
solved through local action alone. These include large
infrastructure projects such as transport hubs, energy
generation and new urban extensions, or important new
facilities like hospitals and universities. Large-scale urban design
addresses other issues that also do not observe boundaries , for
example climate change.
Government itself recognises this continuing need for cross-
boundary working, of course. In future, some of it will be
overseen by local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) which are
expected to take over some of the responsibilities of the
abolished regional development agencies.They are made up of
voluntary partnerships of local authorities and businesses. The
government envisages that LEPs will focus primarily on
economic development, but also deal with issues such as
planning and housing, local transport and infrastructure priorities
and the transition to a low carbon economy. In an early
announcement, communities secretary Eric Pickles and business
secretary Vince Cable have said that LEPs should reflect the
natural economic geography of the areas they serve. Joint local
authority working is crucial for making strategic decisions about
economic development and infrastructure investment.
Getting the big picture right will help the LEPs to recognise that
the spatial dimension must be locked in to the economic
dimension when they formulate their plans. It highlights some
of the best examples from across Europe.
CABE has long recognised the need for joint working as
critical for making the right decisions about economic
development and infrastructure investment and improving the
quality of life for people living in an area. Getting the big picture
right sets out the case for large-scale urban design, a new way
of designing at the level at which economic and housing markets
operate. Large-scale urban design recognises that the way that
people live their lives has changed. We no longer live our lives
in one neighbourhood: we consistently travel further for work,
shopping and for leisure.
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ECONOMICS AND LARGE-SCALE URBAN DESIGN
Large-scale urban design can be used by partnerships facing
significant social, environmental or economic challenges in their
areas. These areas may need to plan water or waste
management, energy production or green spaces; or they may
want to protect or enhance natural or cultural assets. They
may be growing in population and need to plan new homes,
schools, leisure and shopping centres. Or they may simply want
to improve the quality and distinctiveness of local building.
In times of austerity, there are economic benefits to planning
across boundaries. Large-scale urban design can inform
decisions on where to invest limited resources, and can
strengthen local prosperity, say by linking specialised centres
together to support a knowledge economy. With the economic
slowdown offering fewer chances to rectify failures, the
decisions on where and how to invest and build or achieve
efficiencies through joint action are increasingly important.
AWORKSHOP-BASED PROCESS
These issues are the focus of CABEs new approach to large-
scale design. It uses a workshop-based process split into three
phases. The first phase is to prepare and understand the
challenge. The culmination of this phase is a design brief that
guides the next phase of work. It will set out the vision
statement for the project, and include a summary of the
information and analysis, delivery challenges for the wide area,
aspirations for design quality and indicators to monitor the
forthcoming spatial strategy and/or priority projects.
Second is the design phase. This is based on one or more
intensive workshops with key stakeholders that are guided by
expert facilitators. It is at this point that the critical issues and
projects are identified that will need to be addressed at cross-
boundary level and spatial options explored for their
implementation.
The key output of this phase is a spatial strategy, which
summarises the story of change for the area. It is supplemented
by a design guide to support development of more detailed
masterplans, development briefs and proposals.
The strategy and the guide are then published widely (in
formats that are easy to understand) in order to get the public
on board. The final phase is the implementation plan which sets
out how the strategy will be delivered and by whom. This is
based on the earlier exploration of delivery issues and its
preparation may culminate in a dedicated workshop with
delivery partners.
THE INSPIRATION OF COLLABORATIVEWORKING
The initial inspiration for CABEs research project came from
the Emscher Landshaftpark project in Germany, where 20 local
authorities decided to work together to reverse the economic,
Interestingly, the most successful of over 30 projects reviewed by CABE were not conceived and
developed within the statutory system.This gave them the freedom to explore all possible options
and at the same time cemented partnerships taking them forward probably why they worked
CABEs workshop-based process focuses on three phases: prepare and
understanding the challenge; the design phase; and the implementation
plan, which sets out how the strategy will be delivered and by whom
(left, top)The initial inspiration for CABEs research project came from the
Emscher Landshaftpark project in Germany, where 20 local authorities
decided to work together to reverse the economic, social and
environmental decline caused by the closure of steelworks and mines.They
produced a flexible spatial strategy to guide the work at local level and
have delivered over 400 projects on the ground since 1989
(left)The Hertfordshire charette developed a number of spatial options for
long-term growth in the county through a seven-day workshop involving
local interests groups
6
Using a non-statutory strategic approach to respond to the increasing
development pressure in and around Cambridge caused by the
phenomenal growth of high-tech businesses
CABE has long recognised the need for joint
working as critical for making the right decisions
about economic development and infrastructure
investment. Getting the big picture right sets out the
case for large-scale urban design, a new way of
designing at the level at which economic and
housing markets operate
social and environmental decline caused by the closure of
steelworks and mines.They produced a flexible spatial strategy
to guide the work at local level and have delivered over 400
projects on the ground since 1989.
In New Zealand, an urban development strategy for
Christchurch brought together a large number of sub-regional
stakeholders to develop a growth strategy to 2041 through
intensive design workshops. And in the UK, a Hertfordshire
charette developed a number of spatial options for long-term
growth in the county through a seven-day workshop involving
local interests groups.
Interestingly, the most successful of over 30 projects
reviewed by CABE were not conceived and developed within
the statutory system.This gave them the freedom to explore
all possible options and at the same time cemented
partnerships taking them forward this is probably why they
worked. What made these projects successful was the focus
on the qualities and opportunities of their area in all its
complexity and the spatial, creative and collaborative approach
to thinking about its future.
With the economic slowdown offering fewer chances to
rectify failures, the decisions on where and how to invest and
build or achieve efficiencies through joint action are arguably
now more important than ever. Our research shows that with
a strong team, the active involvement of all those affected, and
a flexible approach, large-scale urban design can strengthen
local prosperity.
I For more information on large-scale urban design, and how
to approach it, see www.cabe.org.uk/publications/getting-the-
big-picture-right and www.cabe.org.uk/strud
On 20 October, 2010, the Department of Culture decided as
part of the Comprehensive Spending Review to withdraw
funding from CABE. The CABE team is now working with
Government and others to try to find a way to ensure the kind
of expert, impartial design advice for which CABE has been
known remains available to councils, communities and
developers across the country.
In the meantime, CABE remains the governments statutory
advisor on architecture, urban design and public space. It is
continuing to conduct design review and to deliver many
programmes. Existing CABE online resources will remain
accessible on www.cabe.org.uk
LARGERTHANTHE
LOCAL LEVEL...
Democratic decision-making that is larger than
the local, but smaller than the national, forms a
key element in the move towards locally-
focused partnership placemaking
As the coalition government moves towards a localism
agenda via the Localism Bill, which will devolve greater
powers to local authorities and communities, UK planners
and designers are keen to ensure that a reformed planning
system meets wider than local needs, calling for larger-than-
local level planning to be enshrined in any reforms to the
current system.With the impending abolition of regional
spatial strategies, an alliance including the Planning Officers
Society, the RTPI andTCPA have petitioned Eric Pickles
Secretary of State, DCLG, calling for larger-than-local level
planning to be enshrined in any reforms to the current
system. By way of reply, Pickles re-assured the alliance that
the government is considering what additional tools or
mechanisms can be added to the legislative framework to
enable strategic planning.
REINVENTING THE STRATEGIC TIER?
Many placemaking professionals are wondering how a
localist approach can be relied upon to produce balanced
decisions on new development that factor in community
need: efficient utilities, green space, mixed use and design
quality, and still act in the overall interests of society. TCPA
chief planner Hugh Ellis, for example, has expressed the
view that the spatial strategy system should have been
reformed rather than abolished. If we want to go forward
we will have to reinvent the strategic tier, he said. The only
question is what shape that tier should be. Many have also
questioned the effectiveness of voluntary agreements
between local authorities and business in the form of local
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Neighbourhood plans will form a tier of planning
below the local development plan.The plans will
need to respect the overall national presumption in
favour of sustainable development as well as other
local priorities, such as the positioning of transport
links and meeting housing need.The Planning
Officers Society noted that urban neighbourhoods
in particular may be difficult to define
enterprise partnerships (LEPs), saying there needs to be
obligation within strategic planning.
Our view is, said Mark Prisk, minister for business and
enterprise, that where Whitehall engages with local
authorities on a particular issue, there might be some
funding available through a contractual agreement with
central government. As to whether the partnerships would
receive any basic funding to help them operate, he added:
We have to get away from this idea that economic
development is all about funding fromWhitehall.
The Centre for Cities think tank has always
recommended that economic priorities should be set at the
level of natural economic areas smaller than regions, but
bigger than single local authority boundaries. It supports the
introduction of LEPs and believes that they could give cities
the powers they need to shape their local economy. LEPs
are able to bid for part of the new 1bn Regional Growth
Fund, and the Government is also pledging funds (5m in
2011/12, 10m in 2012/13, 15m in 2013/14 and 20 in
2014/15) to deliver open source planning.This as yet rather
undefined concept appears to refer to a series of concepts
which involve the abolition of the regional strategies and the
creation of new local and neighbourhood plans. But concern
remains about the lack of detail concerning models for the
ways in which top-down planning would meet
neighbourhood planning, and there have been calls for a link
to national policy.
NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANS
The governments local growth white paper confirmed that
neighbourhood plans will form a tier of planning below the
local development plan.The plans will need to respect the
overall national presumption in favour of sustainable
development as well as other local priorities, such as the
positioning of transport links and meeting housing need.The
Planning Officers Society noted that urban neighbourhoods
in particular may be difficult to define. It stressed the need
to consult local people and businesses early in the plan-
making process to define neighbourhood boundaries.
Nevertheless, neighbourhood plans do have a place in the
planning framework, said POS spokesman John Silvester.
Savills head of planning and regeneration, Roger Hepher,
said of the plans that a potentially anarchic concept has
been tempered by the need to respect local and national
strategic priorities.Town and Country Planning Association
chief executive Kate Henderson added: Local and
neighbourhood plans will need to have regard to national
policy and establish the key strategic framework on
infrastructure, as well as other local strategic priorities.
A survey of local authority intentions, published in
October in the planning press, assessed how they intend to
handle the new frameworks and the imminent abolition of
targets. While less than one quarter of the surveyed sample
planned to review housing targets, many more were
preparing to revise employment targets, potentially
upsetting the carefully worked out balance that the regional
strategies aimed for. Many planners, including some who
support localism, feel that the current policy vacuum will
delay the already geological pace at which many Local
Development Frameworks are advancing.
Many placemaking professionals, in the UK and beyond, are wondering
whether a localist approach can be relied upon to produce balanced
decisions on new development that factor in community need: efficient
utilities, green space, mixed use and design quality, and still act in the
overall interests of society
8
DIMENSIONS OFTHE
SUSTAINABLE CITY
Are more compact, higher density and mixed use urban forms more
environmentally sound, more efficient for transport, more economically
viable and more socially beneficial? Following five years of detailed analysis
across five UK cities, the CityForm consortium came up with rather
surprising insights. By Juliana ORourke
With sustainable urban development nowa national priority, this
brief summary of a complex and inter-relating series of outputs
and outcomes offers food for thought on how planners,
designers, decision-makers and policymakers can support moves
to more sustainable and socially equitable living.
There is an increasingly intense debate in policy and practice
about sustainability, and a key issue is to what extent the
adaptation of the physical form of cities and the way people live
in them and travel around them can improve it, say Mike Jenks
and Colin Jones, editors of Dimensions of the Sustainable City, a
book discussing the CityForm project findings.The consortiums
insights are a key output to emerge from the EPSRC-funded
Sustainable Urban Environment (SUE) programme. Compact city
arguments have, they say, become attractive to governments in
recent years and sustainability policies have focused on
increasing the density of urban development, improving public
transport, ensuring a mix of uses and containing sprawl.Yet, they
add, despite this widespread adoption of these policies, the
evidence base supporting them is very limited.
While noting that the analysis and measurement of urban
form, along with the concept of sustainability, remain elusive
concepts that are widely open to interpretation, the project
outcomes suggest that despite apparent simplifications of policy,
the concept of urban sustainability has become increasingly
complex. A range of what the editors termcontradictions and
complementarities social acceptability, environmental
concerns and economic viability seek priority on the policy
agenda.The planners challenging task is to address and resolve
the tensions from this triangle of potential conflicts, suggest
Jenks and Jones.
For the parameters of this project, urban form was
characterised in terms of five elements the pattern of land use,
accessibility defined by transport infrastructure, density,
housing/building characteristics and urban layout. Each of these,
to a degree, overlap and it is difficult to completely isolate
individual components.The core research was based on five UK
cities: case studies comprising neighbourhoods located in the
inner, middle and outer city zones were produced.The editors
noted that the spatial structure of each of the five cities
demonstrated a strong relationship between physical urban form
and socio-economic demographic characteristics.
Elements of urban form are intertwined, and so are the key
domains or pillars of urban sustainability; namely social,
environmental and economic sustainability. The aim of this
project was to identity the optimum urban form solutions that
would be socially beneficial, economically viable, environmentally
sound and support an efficient transport system, says Dr Shibu
Raman, a member of the CityForm consortium.
Although our research has shown the complexity of
making cities more sustainable, it also identified many
trade-offs and a number of potential ways of getting
there. The important point is to approach the
problems in an inclusive and integrated way, to work
in partnership across boundaries and disciplines, and
tackle the issues of social, economic and environmental
sustainability in an imaginative way
Professor Mike Jenks, CityForm consortium
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TRANSPORT:TRAVEL AND MOBILITY
Sustainable urban policy has focused on reducing the dominance
of private car use. Many designers and planners argue that cities
can be designed to create amenity-rich urban neighbourhoods
that stimulate the use of public transport, walking and cycling.
But such an approachfaces a number of major hurdles, say Jenks
and Jones. In the absence of constraints such as road pricing or
parking restrictions, the car looks set to remain the king of the
road. And evidence suggests, they say, that even if urban
neighbourhood design could stimulate greater use of local
amenities, it is probable that the savings generated may well be
used for wider travel. Overall, the assumption that redesigning
urban form can bring about a substantial change in travel
behaviour is open to question.
The extent to which residential location choice is the
consequence of household travel preferences is a key question,
suggests project results. Traditional urban forms characterised
by moderately high densities of housing, mixed land-uses,
proximity to public transport and grid-pattern road layouts are
definitely linked with lower levels of car availability, which in turn
are associated with lower trip frequencies and shorter travel
distances. Overall, add the editors, car ownership levels increase
with decreasing population density and increasing distance from
a city centre. In the highest density areas, limited parking supply
and regulatory control can also play a role in limiting car demand.
However, self-selection of residential location on the basis of
travel preferences wasnot found to be a major influence on car
travel, with other influences such as household income being a
strong influence on car ownership. Project outputs suggest that
although car ownership is lessened in higher density areas, it
influences trip-making behaviour but has no measurable effect
on distance travelled. Local travel is influenced by the frequency
of use of a number of key services and facilities, declining with
distance from home.
The relationship between travel and urban form is not simple,
conclude the editors. At the neighbourhood level, the analysis
suggests that (re)designing a neighbourhood per se will not
necessarily bring substantial change to travel behaviour. Other
measures will be needed to secure a fully sustainable shift in
travel behaviour, for example relating to the higher taxation and
pricing of fuel, increased regulation and stronger direct
management of travel demand.
ENVIRONMENT: ECOLOGYAND BIODIVERSITY
Given that an increasing proportion of the worlds population
lives in urban areas, the project explored the relationships
between urban form, green space and biodiversity in terms of
population density, the patterns of coverage of different land use
types, and the degree of connectivity of different patches of land
cover. Higher urban densities were found to be strongly
associated with a reduction in total green space coverage, and
to influence their connectivity.Increased population density has
implications for essential elements of the local ecosystem that
are mediated by green space: the regulation of water and
temperature regimes, carbon sequestration and the provision
of pest control and pollinators across the urban landscape. One
striking relationship between biodiversity and density is given by
the incidence of bird species. Levels of bird species richness
showed a hump-shaped relationship with housing density, rising
initially as density increased, but then declining sharply at highly
urbanised locations. The results also suggested that reductions
in the scale and quality of green space through higher densities
lead to substantial restrictions on recreation and experiences
of nature, especially for children.The analysis suggests that there
are opportunities for policies designed to improve the
environmental and ecological performance of urban areas for
any given level of urban density.
SOCIAL ACCEPTABILITY
A sustainable city must be a place where people want to live
and work, say the editors. Social acceptability comprises two
broad concepts: social equity, or ease of access to local
services, facilities and opportunities, and sustainable
community or positive quality of life, which takes in high
levels of social capital and/or social cohesion (local pride,
social interaction, safety and stability). Research findings show
that for most aspects of sustainability of community or
Higher urban densities in some UK cities were found
to be strongly associated with a reduction in total
green space coverage. In Europe, urban extensions try
to build in green space and SUDs
10
quality of life, lower density suburbs appear more popular.
These aspects of the social dimension challenge the
compact city orthodoxy, but there are some counter-
balancing benefits of compactness in the equity aspect of
social sustainability, particularly access to services, say the
editors. Social interaction fares best at medium densities,
while some aspects, for example community participation, are
neutral. The editors also note that housing tenure and the
social composition of neighbourhoods influence these
indicators: the disadvantages of compactness are more
marginal once socio-demographic characteristics of residents
are controlled for.
Poverty is often more important than urban form who lives
where, and whether they are able to choose where they live,
matters. However, accessibility to key services such as
supermarkets within the neighbourhood is identified as
important for certain groups of residents such as the
unemployed, older people and young families, and plays a
significant role in social and community life
For open space usage, perceptions of safety are crucial, but
management solutions can be complex, and problematic in,
for example, shared communal gardens and spaces in higher
density flats.
ENVIRONMENT: ENERGY USE
Cities use great amounts of energy: policies tend to focus on
adapting existing housing stock to improve energy conservation
and promoting carbon neutral new housing. CityForm explored
the issues of domestic energy and its influence on housing type
and built form.The analysis found only a weak relationship with
built urban form: residential energy use appears to be linked
more closely to the level of occupancy within a home and type
of appliances used than house type. There is also a slight
suggestion that the organisation of a citys economy and urban
form in shaping commuting may impact on energy consumption
via home working.
Lifestyles and demographics influence energy consumption
more than building type, and urban form is of only marginal
importance: connection with urban formis an indirect association
with occupancy (particularly number of bedrooms) the smaller
the house the less energy used, and the smaller the house the
more likely it is to be part of a higher density urban form.
The analysis suggests that there are opportunities for policies
designed to improve the environmental and ecological
performance of urban areas for any given level of urban
density, as frequently happens in Holland
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ECONOMICVIABILITY
Economics is a key influence on urban form, and policy cannot
work counter to spatial market forces in the long term, note
the editors. CityForm explored to what extent the spatial
economy is likely to constrain change, and found that arguments
in favour of higher densities are based on too simplistic a
concept of agglomeration economies, which does not take into
account cities as dynamic entities with spatial land use patterns
subject to change.
The urban dispersal alternative, partly the inevitable
outcome of market forces, has the drawback that the existing
longstanding urban dispersal trends have substantially increased
commuting distances and travel to work, as well as
infrastructure costs. These externality effects are not
considered by individual market decision-makers in their
decentralisation decisions
CityForms evidence suggests that policies aimed at supporting
cities potential to adapt existing urban form in ways that move
towards economic sustainability are welcome. However, analysis
of the housing market shows that many households prefer low
density housing. There appears to be a household life-cycle
element to residential location choice: younger and non-
pensioner single households live in the central city areas, but
move out to the suburbs as they move through the family life
cycle. It may be difficult to encourage more concentrated urban
forms without significant changes to the underlying forces of city
housing markets, particularly where concentrated poverty makes
market-led urban redevelopment unviable.
INTENSIFYING NEIGHBOURHOOD DENSITY
A major theme of many sustainability protagonists is the need
for higher residential densities to enhance sustainability. As
CityForm demonstrates, these arguments are not entirely
founded on empirical analysis.
The consortiums detailed investigation of Govan, a working
class area of Glasgow, shows that a systematic tool can be
applied to restructure cities into a series of sustainable
neighbourhoods featuring amenities within walking distance
of peoples front doors and local centres directly linked by public
transport although it makes clear that those embarking on
such a task will needthe courage not to compromise too soon,
given the substantial upheaval involved.
Do residents of newsustainable housing developments, asked
CityForm, behave more sustainably than the population in
general? The groups findings were, perhaps surprisingly, more
negative than positive. Households living in sustainable
developments only appear to behave more sustainably with
regard to home-based resource efficiency activities, such as
water and energy use. Behaviour toward recycling and frequency
of use of local facilities are equivalent to national benchmarks.
When it comes to other activities, such as travel to work by car,
owning (or having access to) a car, social participation,
encouraging wildlife and composting, they behave less sustainably
than the population in general.
To put these findings in context, the authors note that the
nature of high density living may make activities as outdoor
composting and encouraging wildlife in gardens difficult.
Research into private gardens demonstrates that individual
decisions made by landowners can result in large scale effects on
environmental conditions, yet conservation biology has yet to
incorporate the urban environment into conservation planning
exercises, note the authors.
The interpretation of some relationships between urban form
and dimensions of sustainability must be treated with care. In
studying links, for example, between density and social outcomes
it is essential to control for the influence of intervening variables
that may exert significant influence and so affect conclusions. For
example, poverty in particular is a key influence on the social
sustainability of a neighbourhood.
To sumup more than five years of detailed analysis, the editors
conclude that their findings raise as many questions as they
answer although when studied in detail, the analysis can
provide strong strategic insight for policymakers. Lifestyles,
including the use of cars, are not necessarily determined by
urban physical form, suggest Jenks and Jones, although they may
be influenced and constrained by it.Consumption in its broadest
sense is more broadly determined by incomes and social class.
This is reflected in the patterns of the spatial viability of new
housing development being more dependent on the socio-
economic status of a neighbourhood than any particular feature
of urban form.
I Dimensions of the Sustainable City is published by Springer at 90
Series: Future City, Vol. 2, Jenks, Mike; Jones, Colin (Eds.). 1st Edition, 2010, XIII,
282 p. 58 illus. in color., Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-4020-8646-5
In general, efficiently designed, mixed use and
moderately high density development has a lot
going for it. It can provide high quality infrastructure,
quality of life, richer biodiversity, and has a relatively
smaller environmental footprint
Dr Shibu Raman, CityForm consortium
The CityForm research has made a real impact outside the
UK. The research approach and methodology have been
adapted to the Indian context, where rapid urbanisation is
creating challenges for long-term sustainability.The CityForm-
India research network is jointly funded by the EPSRC, British
Council and the Indian Government and brings together
academics, practitioners, built environment experts and
policymakers from Europe and India in an international
research exchange on sustainability and urban form.A similar
collaborative research project is beginning to investigate the
challenges and solutions of urbanisation inAfrica. Equally there
is a need to develop methods and tools that allow an
integrated analysis, to find the way through the complex
relationships that exists in cities.
I Dr Nicola Dempsey and Dr Shibu Raman, CityForm
See www.cityform.org for more details
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
The EPSRC grant was GR/520529/01, and the research involved
many people. The key researchers are all acknowledged in the
book Dimensions of the Sustainable City, and those who
undertook particular aspects of the work are listed as authors
of each of the books chapters.
A STRATEGICAPPROACHTO
LOCAL CHARACTER
Localism means starting from the place, rather than from administrative
boundaries. The new joint Urban Design Guidance for Newcastle-under-
Lyme Borough Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council shows how a
strategic urban design approach and cross-boundary working help realise
the potential for local distinctiveness. By Jane Dann and Katja Stille
12
STRATEGY AND CHARACTER
The brief made clear that generic design guidance would not
meet local aspirations a place-based approach was required
to respond to distinctive local character. The guidance
includes a strategic urban design vision and design principles
for the area as a whole. This adds character as another
dimension to the spatial vision set out in the Joint Core
Spatial Strategy. It is based on a sub-regional character
assessment, and is among the first occasions such a holistic
approach has been used.
This recognises the vital importance of the conurbations
rich and unique heritage to local distinctiveness, which
derives as much from the historic pattern of development as
from the appearance of places. The areas topography and
geology supported the development of industries such as
coal, iron and potteries, with the central valley of todays
conurbation, in particular, becoming a concentration of
industry. A number of towns grew up to serve these
industries. The form of development was polycentric, based
around the six centres of Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle (already
an established market town) and Kidsgrove. Today the
Quality of place has been identified as crucial to establishing
a stronger, knowledge-based economic platform to drive
regeneration in North Staffordshire. The conurbation of
Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stoke-on-Trent suffered from the
post-war loss of much of its traditional economic base, and
quality of proposals for new development declined
accordingly, not helped by a degree of competition between
local authorities for new development and for jobs.
In recent years, public sector agencies have adopted a
coordinated approach to economic regeneration and housing
market renewal.This extended to include planning policy, with
cross-boundary working successfully producing a Joint Core
Spatial Strategy. Renew North Staffordshire, the HMR
Pathfinder, recognised that Urban Design Guidance, with the
status of a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD), had a key
role to play in raising the quality of new housing across the area.
AREA-WIDE GUIDANCE
The guidance outlines area-wide urban design guidance, not
something that is commonly produced, says Mick Downs,
executive director of Urban Vision North Staffordshire
(UVNS). UVNS produced the project brief, acting for a client
group comprising Renew North Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent
City Council and Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council,
with support from CABE, English Heritage and the Homes
and Communities Agency.
Urban design guidance is normally created for a master
plan area or a town centre, but not for a whole city area
with multiple centres, suburbs and industrial developments,
mixed use projects and more than one local authority, says
Downs.
Each member of the client group had their own priorities,
reflected in an all-encompassing and ambitious brief. The
document was to be promotional yet regulatory, and include
design guidance at all scales (from sub-regional to detail). Its
preparation needed to raise design awareness and the skills
of stakeholders. It had to cover character areas (such as town
centres, canal and river corridors); topics (such as residential,
public realm); the importance of good design; and how design
and procurement processes can promote good design. The
aim was to set a common benchmark for urban design quality
across the whole area.
A wide range of environments can be found across the conurbation
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industries have generally moved on, but the legacy of this
distinctive settlement pattern remains.
With the loss of industry, the conurbation lost much of the
physical glue that fixed the settlement pattern. Whilst this
presents a significant challenge for economic regeneration, it
also represents an opportunity for development to support
a new quality of life, to respond to changing aspirations for
sustainable lifestyles and to adapt to future climate change.
To date, much of the redevelopment of former industrial
areas has had a low quality, disjointed and out-of-town
character, which has made the heart of the conurbation
seem a confusing place, with a negative image. The design
guidance proposes a new, green character for these in
between areas so instead they become an environmental
asset, create a more positive image, aid wayfinding and
support sustainable regeneration.
Stakeholders were unfamiliar with the concept of strategic
urban design. However, the results of a workshop session
devoted to this subject showed that most people felt it to be
an important scale for the guidance to address.
INTEGRATEDTRAININGAND ENGAGEMENT
Front-loaded consultation involved council officers, elected
embers, representatives of public sector agencies, developers,
architects, RSLs and amenity groups.Tibbalds devised and ran
a programme of engagement together with Urban Visions
urban design skills training for local stakeholders. Training
elements included an inspirational visit to Sheffield and outside
speakers to highlight the benefits of design guidance.
Events were aligned with the work programme, so each
session included both engagement and training. Progress
updates and workshops encouraged people to feed in local
issues and concerns, to discuss concepts and debate
priorities.
At guidance testing workshops, planning officers and
potential applicants used drafts of the guidance to assess
sample planning applications (already determined). This
format of workshop, in facilitated groups, provided a
productive combination of feedback (to the consultant team)
and skills sharing (both between participants and with the
facilitators).
The recently published Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stoke-on-
Trent urban design vision is among the first in the UK to set out
strategic guidance across local authority borders and multiple
town centres. But any move forward requires that key local
officials be prepared to make robust decisions in the interest of
supporting holistic design.
The planned growth for Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stoke on-
Trent is set to deliver 20,000 homes, 332 hectares of new
employment land and 155,000 square metres of retail space in
coming years, together with a wide range of supporting
community infrastructure. Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design
was appointed in 2007 to prepare design guidance for Newcastle-
under-Lyme and Stoke on-Trent.The key aimof the design guide
was to achieve a step change in the design quality of new
development, both by the public and private sectors, says Jane
Dann from the Tibbalds team. On the one hand, the guidance
needed to be aspirational and inspiring, and on the other it had
to provide practical and pragmatic advice to prospective
developers and their designers on how to achieve urban design
quality without compromising development viability.
We are already using the guidance, says councilor Robin
Studd, Newcastle Borough Council Deputy Leader and cabinet
member with responsibility for regeneration & planning. Its
going to be of great value to us. Basically, our area has been a
bucket shop for poor design over the past years. We urgently
need guidance that will help us to raise the game and begin to
create the heritage buildings of the future and that means
ordinary homes, not just iconic commercial developments.This
guidance will become the vehicle by which we embed new
thinking and a new approach.
We had a lot of discussion about how broad the urban design
principles needed to be. It was crucial to get the right balance
between contextual issues and general placemaking principles,
says Katja Stille, urban designer with Tibbalds. Despite the
proposed abolition of regional spatial strategies, the evidence
base on which they were based is still valid, says Stille.The design
guide brings together evidence and information from a wide
JOINED UP DESIGN: STRATEGIC GUIDANCEACROSS LOCAL
AUTHORITY BORDERSAND MULTIPLETOWN CENTRES
range of studies carried out over the years, a very useful process
that is far too rarely undertaken.
Strategic planning is necessary, says Stille, to ensure that larger
than local planning and investment initiatives make sense. It
ensures that investment in major infrastructure is cost-effective
and serves both the needs of local communities and the wider
area. Placed in context with the current reorganisation of
planning policy, it seems that design guidance created at the scale
of the Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stoke-on-Trent document
becomes even more relevant, she adds.
Given that producing holistic design guidance at this scale is
quite a new approach, we faced several challenges, says Mick
Downs, executive director of UrbanVision North Staffordshire.
When youre trying to get a message across to development
control officers, theyre not necessarily used to operating at that
level.They are more likely used to dealing with a specific site, so
theyre not used to seeing abig picture of the way development
is going to form part of an even bigger jigsaw. It was problematic
getting that message across, and we went through several drafts
before getting it right; when the local authorities were
comfortable that the guidance was sufficiently understandable to
be used by planners from day to day.The complete process has
taken two and a half years, and the document has been written
in such a way that it also has some promotional value, says
Downs.Its painting a picture of where the area is trying to go, to
but obviously achieving aims requires pretty robust decisions by
the councils.Their support is the key to the whole initiative.
I intend to stress the need to use this guidance, says Cllr
Studd.I understand that we may need to apply a little pressure
if we want to change things.The guidance shows us what can be
achieved. There are a number of policy and decision-makers
across the local authorities who are reluctant to embrace
change, but I intend to encourage them to take another look at
their traditional ways.
Although guidance rather than regulation, Downs describes
the vision as directional guidance. Enforcement remains a local
authority issue.I believe that the local authorities need to take
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a robust approach, particularly in the early stages. They may
need to refuse a few planning applications that dont comply
with the guidance. But if they draw a line and fight a few
successful appeals, then developers will have to take more
notice. It really is the local authorities responsibility to make
this thing work. Its vital that they take robust decisions,
especially in the beginning.
The Urban Design Guidance has been adopted by Newcastle-
under-Lyme Borough Council, and is subject to approval by
Stoke-on-Trent City Council. It is soon expected to start playing
its part in shaping future proposals for the area. Elected
members across the conurbation are positive that progress will
be made.I am pleased that we have a formal policy approach to
design and spatial quality, says Councillor Mervin Smith, Stoke-
on-Trent City Council cabinet member for city development
and regeneration.This will ensure that future developments will
need to be of a high standard and this can only be a good thing
for the city, and North Staffordshire. Good architectural quality
will do a lot to lift the dignity and esteem of our built
environment and will help us to attract and retain residents, he
adds.It also means that developers need to raise their game in
order to meet the high aspirations being set by the city. However,
whilst we will continue to protect and celebrate our heritage
and conserve those parts of the area which need preservation,
we shall also modernise wherever possible.
Achieving such progress may not, acknowledges Downs,
always be easy.In development control there so many factors to
take into account. Many planning officers tend to regard design
as just one factor, along with flood risk or traffic issues. But we
believe that good design is fundamental to every single aspect of
planning. Reinforcing the idea that good design really can solve
key problems is our main challenge.
I Juliana ORourke spoke with Jane Dann and Katja Stille from
Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design, and Mick Downs, Executive
Director, UrbanVision North Staffordshire
www.tibbalds.co.uk
The document, produced in an easily accessible and searchable interactive pdf format, begins with the strategic vision of good design and good
practice, followed by area-specific guidance for centres, for transport corridors and for rivers and waterways and thematic guidance for residential
development, open space and other policy and design issues
02
NEW
COMMUNITIES
16 THE DELIVERY MODELS
ARE BROKEN...
18 DEMYSTIFYING DESIGN
APPRAISAL
20 DELIVERINGA CARBON
NEUTRAL COMMUNITY
23 COMMUNITY-FOCUSED
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Kelvin Campbell of Urban Initiatives, London, has recently
criticized the current state of masterplanning in particular as
designed to deliver products, not places. A back-to-basics
approach based on smaller, more viable plots is required,
he suggests. He quotes Sir Bob Kerslake of the UK Homes
and Communities Agency: The old delivery models are
broken. Einsteins famous quote; insanity is doing the same
thing over and over again, but expecting different results, is
relevant here, says Campbell. The private sector can deliver
successful products, but struggles to deliver successful
places.That can only be the role of those who have a long-
term view of a place, and are willing to open up
opportunities to a wider group of players, says Campbell.
But the spectres of over-commercially minded
developers and errant politicians remain. Local
communities need new powers to prevent developers and
local councils flouting the new neighbourhood-oriented
plans promised by the Government, says CivicVoice chair
Paula Ridely. As the most numerous participants in the
planning system, civic volunteers are set to play a central
role in the Governments Big Society ambitions for better
planning. Change is in the air, as local communities take
more control over their own future. Local people know
their area best.The civic movement is part of this.We want
to play a revitalised role in promoting civic pride and making
the places where everyone lives more attractive, enjoyable
and distinctive.
But not everyone is happy.The coalitions proposed
overhaul of the planning system lacks an evidence base and
is completely untested, according to a deeply sceptical
former housing minister, Nick Raynsford, who has voiced
deep concerns over the governments plans to increase
localism in planning and scrap regional spatial strategies.
Raynsford said:We are living in a period of unparalleled
uncertainty and flux. Im deeply sceptical about the
THE DELIVERY MODELS
ARE BROKEN...
Soon after taking office, the Conservatives published proposals for a planning
system that calls for a more responsive and accountable system. And, judging
from the murmurs coming from the urban design and placemaking
communities ever since, its not a moment too soon
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proposition of an overhaul of planning. This is completely
untested. Not one small locality or community has had this
new system tested on it.We are being asked to do
something that has no evidence base.The Conservatives
claimed that the short-term decline in housing proved the
planning system was bust, said Raynsford. This apocalyptic
critique frankly doesnt stack up. Only time will tell.
COMMUNITY-BASED BUDGETS
Proposals for community-based budgets will also be
outlined in the localism bill, LordWei, the coalitions Big
Society advisor, has suggested. Four councils have so far
been testing the potential of so-called community-based
budgets as part of a pilot programme that could lead to
radical changes to the way funding is devolved. Many
placemakers look forward to the moves: freeing local
authorities from ring-fenced grants and centrally-imposed
regimes. However, the benefit of community-based budgets
would seem to be restricted to the fact that councils can
have more control over local government monies and
limited sums from other public sector budgets in order to
address the challenges of communities with complex needs.
Proposals for community-based budgets will be outlined in
the forthcoming Localism Bill, LordWei has suggested.
Again, only time will tell.
Change is in the air, as local communities take
more control over their own future. Local
people know their area best. The civic
movement is part of this. We want to play a
revitalised role in promoting civic pride and
making the places where everyone lives more
attractive, enjoyable and distinctive
Borneo Sporenburg, Holland, has been masterplanned as a sustainable and
affordable urban extension with good transport links and people-friendly
streets. Residents frequently bring tables and chairs into the street for parties
18
DEMYSTIFYING
DESIGNAPPRAISAL
The new emphasis on localism suggests that a wider range of people
will become actively involved in decisions about design and development,
with direct impact on design quality. The Qualityreviewer toolkit can help
stakeholders to make better-informed and more thoughtful decisions.
By Rob Cowan
One of the governments first specific announcements on
localism in planning has been that land trusts will be allowed
to build small numbers of affordable houses without planning
permission, if the proposal is overwhelmingly approved in a
local referendum.The proposal has been met with some alarm.
Will this not mean that people without relevant professional
skills will be deciding on the quality of development?Yes, it will.
But to some extent that is already the case.
Every year one question is asked of hundreds of thousands
of planning applications, ranging from household extensions to
new settlements: Will this proposal create a well-designed
development? In many cases the judgement is in the hands of
planners, councillors and others who have little or no training
in, or experience of, design and who are often unable to draw
on specialist support. The difference in future may be that
many more people will be involved in considering whether a
particular development is suitable for their locality.What they
will need is some help in demystifying the process of
appraising the design quality of development.
This is just what Qualityreviewer has been developed to do.
Created for the Homes and Communities Agency,
Qualityreviewer helps people to think through the issues. It is
not intended to turn every planner, councillor or citizen into a
design expert, but it can help them make better-informed and
more thoughtful decisions.The Qualityreviewer method assists
with getting the best from design and access statements, as well
as helping to determine the planning application or judging the
proposal. It supports the development of new skills for planners,
councillors, local activists, regeneration professionals, students
and anyone else committed to raising standards of design quality.
FOCUSING ON QUALITY
Qualityreviewer can structure pre-application discussions,
focusing on quality, and helping planners and applicants to
understand one another. It can structure design and access
statements, focusing them on the important issues. It can
structure planning applications, and provide a clear and simple
basis for appraising their design quality. It can provide the basis
for a land trust and its local community to communicate with
one another about a proposed housing development.
Consider this example of how Qualityreviewer can be used
in development control and management. The developer
wants to discuss a development proposal. One of the local
authoritys staff let us call her the quality champion for this
proposal sees it as her role to help reconcile the developers
own interests with the wider public interest, with the hope of
achieving an outcome that is better for both sides.
The first step is to make sure that the developer
understands the site and area, and what policy and guidance
apply.The developers short written record of his conclusions
is useful at this stage in discussions with the local authoritys
officers, and will later become part of the design statement.
The planners ask: what is the design concept? In other
words: whats the big idea? The developer explains, and the
planners begin to understand how he is thinking. Now they
are able to consider the likely impact of the proposed
development, and to allocate the local authoritys resources of
time and skills accordingly. As it happens, this is both a
sensitive site and a fairly large development.
Sometimes the local authoritys officers discuss a
development proposal in its early stages by exchanging written
comments or by meeting to present individual perspectives. In
such exchanges or meetings, the highway engineer explains
what road widths and radiuses are specified in the regulations;
the planner has figures for minimum overlooking distances;
the police liaison officer explains which types of layout he or
she objects to on security grounds; and so on.
In this case the quality champion calls for a different
approach. The officers consider what qualities the
development could create for the place, and how each of their
own particular skills and perspectives could help to create a
place with those qualities. The design qualities set out in
Qualityreviewer, and the related questions, are used as a
prompt for this.
The officers start by considering movement and legibility.
Who will be able to get around most easily and reach their
destinations most conveniently? To whom will the
development be easily accessible? How will the proposal
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Qualityreviewer can structure design and
access statements, focusing them on the
important issues. It can structure planning
applications, and provide a clear and simple
basis for appraising their design quality ... as for
the developer, he sees the planning process as
having contributed to his schemes design quality,
rather than having subjected it blindly to a series
of unconnected standards, regulations, practices
and prejudices
accommodate existing desire lines for pedestrian movement?
How will the proposal promote the use of public transport
and cycling? They ask only those questions that seem relevant,
and give the issues the attention that is due according to the
proposed schemes impact and significance.
The officers follow on with Qualityreviewers questions
about space and enclosure; mixed uses and tenures;
adaptability and resilience; resources and efficiency; and
architecture and townscape. It is not an easy discussion.There
will be difficult potential conflicts of opinion and professional
perspective to resolve. But by the time the planning
application is submitted, the officers and the councillors who
have been involved all feel that the final development
scheme will achieve more for the public interest than they
had thought possible.
As for the developer, he sees the planning process as having
contributed to his schemes design quality, rather than having
subjected it blindly to a series of unconnected standards,
regulations, practices and prejudices.The developer is used to
viewing the task of writing a design statement to accompany
a planning application as a chore. This time, it is much easier.
The design statement has been developing in draft from the
start of the project.The site and area appraisal was recorded
at the time it was carried out, so now it has only to be
accommodated in the design statement.The design principles
were carefully thought out, and can now be reproduced in the
design statement.
This design and access statement, unlike many others,
shows a clear relationship between the appraisal and the
design principles, and between the design principles and the
final scheme. That constitutes a logical story that the local
authority, and anyone else with an interest in the planning
application, will find easy to understand.
The aim of Qualityreviewer is to make this sort of logical
thinking more common. It was urgently needed when
judgments about design were made mainly through the
planning process. The need will be even greater if the
government succeeds in involving a wider community involved
in approving development.
I Rob Cowan is a director of Urban Design Skills
www.urbandesignskills.com
The Qualityreviewer method explains how to appraise
design quality by asking 10 questions.These questions
may sound obvious: too often, though, a development
proposal goes through the planning process without
anyone asking them.
1. What is special about the place?
2. How should policy and guidance be applied?
3. What is the design concept?
4. How significant is the schemes impact likely to be?
5. What are the designs strengths and weaknesses?
6. Does the design team have the right skills and
approach?
7. How can we ensure that the design will be well
executed?
8. Is the scheme likely to be
well managed and
maintained?
9. Do we need more
information and advice?
10. Is the design good
enough?
Qualityreviewer is available in
book form and, in brief, at
www.qualityreviewer.co.uk
ASKINGTHE RIGHT QUESTIONS
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DELIVERINGA CARBON
NEUTRAL COMMUNITY
Graylingwell Hospital was part of network of hospitals and
asylums built during the 19th century for those suffering metal
illness or with serious disabilities. Many, like Graylingwell, were
conceived as self-contained communities, with their own farms
and kitchen gardens, orchards, administrative offices, workplaces,
chapels, and therapeutic landscapes, in addition to hospital wards
and treatment facilities. But as clinical approaches to the
treatment of mental health changed, many of these places
became redundant, and Graylingwell was amongst 96 hospital
sites transferred from the NHS to English Partnerships, as part
of the Government initiative to use public sector assets to meet
the national housing need. Acompetitive process undertaken by
English Partnerships (now the Homes & Communities Agency)
was won by a joint-venture between private developers Linden
Homes and Downland Housing Association/Affinity Sutton,
primarily because of their commitment to a net carbon zero
development, which far exceeded the performance targets.The
proposals for the 34-hectare site were developed by a team led
by John Thompson & Partners, with Joachim Eble Architektur,
Studio Engleback andWSP, and driven by the idea of reinstating
Graylingwell as a self-sustaining community by using four key
approaches: these are briefly outlined below.
1. COLLABORATIVE PLANNING
The winning bid proposed a consensus-led masterplanning
process, using techniques pioneered by JTP on their award-
winning Caterham Barracks project, also undertaken for Linden
Homes. The Graylingwell Community Planning Weekend was
held during March 2008 and involved more than 350 participants
including local residents, business people, council officers, arts
groups, university representatives and other key stakeholders.
The community event revealed great affection for the buildings
and landscapes of the former asylum, and served as a reminder
of the social importance of these civic institutions.
As a consequence, the development team set up the
Graylingwell Forum for local residents, businesses and interest
groups to serve as a platform for regular communication and
feedback. From this point, the participative approach to design
was effectively an urbanchange management process, with local
people having a key role in determining how the Graylingwell
site should be integrated into the town, while retaining a sense
of identity as a self-sustaining community.
Graylingwell Park will be the UKs largest carbon neutral development,
located on the site of a former hospital near Chichester. Set within 85
acres of parkland grounds, it will provide around 750 new and
converted homes along with a range of new community amenities,
managed by a Community Development Trust. By Marcus Adams
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2.WORKINGWITHTHE PAST
The masterplan for Graylingwell Park was informed by research
into the hospital site, and also the wider urban context, with the
final design inspired by the Chichester Cross the cruciform
structure of the city centre, which grew up around the crossing
point of two main Roman roads. The original hospital was laid
out with a strong north-south axis linking the hospital to the
orchards/kitchen gardens. A new cross axis was added to this,
linking Summersdale Road in the west, to the farm in the east, a
strategy that placed the existing listed chapel, and a new green
at the very heart of the development. Over time, the clarity of
the original hospital had been eroded by a large number of
extensions and infill buildings. One of the key urban design
approaches was to restore the original structure of the hospital,
and then enhance this using new development.This was not only
highly sustainable, but also built on the strong sense of place that
already existed.Arigorous assessment of all the existing buildings
was undertaken to determine what should be retained, with the
local community involved in considering appropriate future uses.
The original buildings were designed by eminent Victorian
architect Sir Arthur Blomfield (1829-99), with the first buildings
dating from around 1895. Architecturally, Graylingwell is less
institutional in character than other former hospital sites of the
same period, due to Blomfield using a QueenAnne Revival style
for the design of the core buildings. Existing features were
carefully considered in the subdivision of the interiors into a
residential mix that includes three-storey houses with gardens,
one and two-bedroom apartments, and more quirkyloft- style
attic conversions designed by GillespieYunnie Architects.
The new dwellings in the refurbished buildings will be open
plan in design, with contemporary finishes used to contrast with
the existing period fabric, which will be exposed wherever
possible. High ceilings and tall windows will be exploited, and
double/triple aspects used to maximise views of the surrounding
landscape. In accordance with ambitious eco-homes targets,
single-glazed windows will be replaced with double-glazed
replicas and inner walls insulated.
A parallel study examined the existing parkland which was
listed on English Heritages Register of Parks and Gardens of Special
Historic Interest. Wherever possible, new development was
planned around mature trees, and original landscape features
such as the patientsairing courts, allotments and orchards were
reinstated, and thisproductive landscape integrated into a wider
network of green infrastructure including edible streets.
3.CARBON NEUTRAL PLACEMAKING
When complete, Graylingwell Park will be the largest carbon
neutral development in the UK, with all new building forms
designed to maximise daylight and passive heat from the sun. In
addition, the demanding energy solution requires each unit, with
a south facing roof in phase 1, to accommodate 25m2 of
photovoltaic units. Such technological advances place new
demands on urban design approaches, with street layouts
configured in east-west street orientations, and made wider than
usual to prevent overshadowing, and also provide space for the
Sustainable Urban Drainage systems (SUDs).
Streetscapes are also carefully designed to provide different
solutions for the north and south sides in terms of elevational
approach, location of habitable rooms, parking, and nature of
garden space. This demonstrates how low-energy design
demands a greater understanding of unit typologies in the early
stages of a project than has previously been required.
Graylingwell Park will offer 750 new and converted homes
Graylingwell will offer 750 new and converted homes when complete,
including 300 affordable homes, along with community amenities
artists studios, allotments, a farm shop, gallery space and creative
business office space, all managed by a Community Development Trust.
It is estimated the scheme will create around 200 local jobs. Some 622
mature trees have been retained and 1428 new trees, including fruit
trees, are being planted at the scheme
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when complete, including 300 affordable homes, along with
community amenities artists studios, allotments, a farm shop,
gallery space and creative business office space, all managed by
a Community Development Trust. It is estimated the scheme
will create around 200 local jobs.
Some 622 mature trees have been retained and 1428 new
trees, including fruit trees, are being planted. Residents are
encouraged to make the most of cycle routes and car clubs
provided to preserve this green environment.
Other green approaches in residential design include high
levels of insulation and the use of energy efficient appliances.
Homes use 33 per cent less water than traditional dwellings,
and where possible materials are either recycled, or being
sourced within 50 miles of Graylingwell Park to save energy on
goods in transit.
The existing water tower at the heart of the scheme is a
highly visible and a treasured local landmark, and as such, was
the natural location for the new energy centre.A combined heat
and power plant provides heating and hot water to all homes
through gas-powered, low-carbon technology. Excess power
generated is fed back into the national grid resulting in lower
energy bills for homeowners. An off-site wind farm will offset
the remaining CO2 emissions generated. As a whole, the
scheme will meet net zero carbon for the whole development,
Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4, Code 6 for Energy,
and EcoHomes Excellent on all refurbished buildings.
4. SEEDING COMMUNITY
Good urban form alone cannot guarantee a thriving place, and
a range of strategies are being employed at Graylingwell Park to
maximize social interaction and engender the sense of
belonging required to seed a new community. Some 40 per cent
of the homes proposed for the site are tenure-blind affordable
units, pepper-potted across the site in small groupings, creating
a range of private sale, shared equity and social rented
properties. These are all provided in a range of typologies of
varying sizes, to encourage the development of a healthy mixed
community, made up of people from all backgrounds, and at
different life-stages.
A cultural strategy has also been developed, in consultation
with existing local inhabitants, to bring a sense of energy to the
new development in the early phases. Artists studios are
therefore included in the mixed-uses located in three hubs
around the site. The hubs include community facilities, with a
listed chapel and mixed-use hall, and commercial uses: a new
farm shop, caf/gallery, a public house, offices and small local
retail outlet.
Building on the success of previous experience at Caterham
Barracks, it was decided that all the mixed-uses should be
owned and operated by a Community Development Trust, run
by the new residents and businesses to engender a sense of
ownership of Graylingwell Park as a place. A calendar of
activities is being developed to act as a catalyst for social
interaction. The first Graylingwell Summer fete was held in
August with annual events planned for the future. These are
intended to draw existing local people into the development,
and further nurture good neighbourliness.
OUTCOMES:A HOLISTICAPPROACHTO DEVELOPMENT
Graylingwell Park represents the latest stage in JohnThompson
& Partners pursuit of sustainable urbanism: a holistic approach
to development in which dynamic new places are created by
combining sensitive, but technologically advanced architectures,
with existing historic buildings and mature landscapes. It is
highly ambitious in terms of low-energy architecture and urban
design.The consensus-led approach to design fostered
considerable local support, and allowed an outline consent for
the masterplan, and detailed consent for Phase 1, granted in
March 2009. Construction commenced on site later in the
same year, with completion due in 2016.
The project has been designed to achieve Building for Life
Gold Standard, the national benchmark for neighbourhood
design, and has already been identified as an exemplary project
by English Heritage in their publication Constructive Conservation
in Practice.
Graylingwell Park has been awarded Best Low or Carbon
Zero Initiative in the Housebuilder Awards 2010 and
Sustainable Larger Social Project of the Year 2010 in the
Sustainable Housing Awards, organised by Inside Housing and
Sustainable Housing in association with the Chartered Institute
of Housing.
IMarcusAdams is Managing Partner, JohnThompson & Partners
www.jtp.co.uk/
Low-energy design demands a greater understanding
of unit typologies in the early stage of a project than
has previously been required
Green credentials: residents are encouraged to make the most of cycle
routes and car clubs provided to preserve the green environment.
Many of the new homes have photovoltaic roof panels and high levels
of insulation. Heating is provided by a central heating and power plant,
all appliances are energy efficient and the homes are expected to use
around a third less water than usual, keeping energy bills to a
minimum.The scheme will meet net zero carbon for the whole
development, Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4, Code 6 for Energy,
and EcoHomes Excellent on all refurbished buildings
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COMMUNITY-FOCUSED
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Community LandTrusts (CLTs) offer a potential solution to delivering development
at local scales in urban and rural areas. A typical CLT will acquire land, develop
housing and amenities and sell the properties at an affordable price, usually linked
to local incomes or fixed at a low percentage of market value. By Tom Moore
In August 2010, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg described
access to affordable housing as one of the biggest long-term
problems in the country. Many people have been priced out of
home ownership due to escalating ratios between property
values and average incomes. This disparity, coupled with huge
waiting lists for the limited supply of social housing, means the
trend of rising unmet housing need remains an acute problem.
One solution presented is the idea of a Community Land
Trust (CLT).A typical CLT will acquire land, develop housing on
it, and sell the properties at an affordable price, usually linked to
local incomes or fixed at a low percentage of market value. The
CLT is able to do this by holding the land in trust, separating its
value from that of the building that stands upon it, and leasing it
to the home owners on long leases. In this way, a CLT can create
permanently affordable housing by fixing the percentage of
market value or price the home should be sold at in the future.
Interest in the CLT model has grown in recent years and
successful CLTs have formed and developed housing across the
country, ranging from the north east to the south west. One of
the early adopters, St Minver CLT in Cornwall, developed 12
self-build homes which were sold for a third of market value.
Resales will be restricted to this percentage, ensuring the homes
are perpetually more affordable than the market.
With this interest in mind, a National Community LandTrust
Network has been created, hosted by the National Housing
Federation and supported by Carnegie UK Trust and
Community Finance Solutions at the University of Salford.
The London Citizens CLT gained
overwhelming support for its bid
to build a mixed use development
in Mile End, east London
24
The Network promotes the CLT sector through lobbying and
influencing Government and other key partners and supports
CLTs by providing much needed training and resources. aims to
support CLT development and lobby on behalf of the trusts.
URBAN COMMUNITY LANDTRUSTS
Capitalising on these developments, the Coalition Government
has unveiled plans to support the model.The principal support
will be through reform of planning policies intended to create a
more enabling structure for CLTs to gain planning permission for
small-scale housing developments. However, these plans have so
far only referred to CLTs in rural areas and this neglects the
interest and development of the model in the urban
environment. Urban communities in Leeds and London are
particularly keen to utilise the CLT model.
Headingley Development Trust is a community-owned trust
aiming to promote and develop a sustainable community in
north-west Leeds. The area suffers from a high rate of
studentification, which is the process and product of
concentrated settlements of student housing. As such, the area
has a particularly high rate of Houses of Multiple Occupation
(HMOs), which are defined as homes shared by three or more
unrelated people who do not form a single household.
In 2008 a BBC survey identified Headingley as having the
lowest level of community cohesion in the country, citing as
reasons the high annual population turnover, the transient nature
of a large portion of the community, and the demographic
imbalances these issues generate.
Despite this, the trust has undertaken extensive work and
generated widespread community support. It has nearly 1,000
members and manages various projects aimed at stimulating
community enterprise and activity.The trust is now seeking to
develop a community land trust in order to prioritise local
people and families in the allocation of housing. Motivated by
the dual aims of providing more affordable housing and
rebalancing the community, the trust hopes to create a mixed
housing market which can allow a more settled population to
thrive and in turn build community cohesion. Backed by the local
community and local authority, the trust has explored key
strategies to advance their aims.The trust is negotiating to be a
preferential partner when private developers are obliged to
contribute a portion of affordable housing as part of their
development. This may involve off site provision of affordable
housing which could be placed into the communitys ownership,
or allocation of a developers commuted sum to allow the trust
to invest the money and bring surplus student property into use
as affordable family housing.
Another possible strategy would be to place greater
restrictions on the use of properties as HMOs. Although not
directly affiliated to the trust, the National HMO Lobby has a
strong presence in Leeds and has campaigned for legislation
which would allow local authorities more control over the
number of HMOs in their area.This would oblige a landlord to
gain planning consent for the use of a property as a home of
multiple occupation and as such ensure that concentrations of
such properties are avoided.
This legislation would clearly help the trusts aims in
Headingley as they seek to create a more cohesive and balanced
community, but having been agreed by the previous
administration the new Coalition Government has decided to
repeal the legislation, leaving local authorities unable to exercise
any effective control over HMOs.The National HMOLobby says
thiseffectively sabotages the campaigns efforts and undoubtedly
runs counter to the problem Headingley Development Trust is
trying to solve through their CLT proposal.
Another prominent proposal for an urban community land
trust is led by the London Citizens group in east London.
London Citizens CLT has emerged from the campaigning of the
umbrella Citizens UK body which aims to increase the power
and influence of communities in public life. The CLT aims to
acquire and develop the site of St Clements Hospital in Mile
End, creating family-sized housing which is affordable in
perpetuity. The site is currently owned by the Homes and
Communities Agency and negotiations are ongoing as the CLT
aims to acquire the land.
A team of planners, developers, architects and financiers are
on board to provide expertise to the CLT as the scheme
develops, while simultaneously the project has a wealth of
support from the local community. Schools, mosques, churches
and other local institutions are on board in order to ensure the
project is not only backed by the local community, but also
representative of it. Strong community organising and leadership
is at the heart of the CLTs campaigning.After deciding upon the
proposed site, the local community formed a steering group
which attempted, throughout the spring and summer of 2009, to
establish contact with the Homes and Communities Agency.
When this proved unfruitful, the Mayor of London was
propositioned at a London Citizens meting of over 2,000 people
at the Barbican in November, at which he pledged to look
seriously at the proposal.
Queen Mary Universitys geography department
commissioned an in-depth study of the local area to ask them
about community partnerships proposals. Plans were met with
overwhelming approval and brought hundreds of new
supporters to the campaign, along with potential applicants for
housing on the site.
The Olympic Park Legacy Company has also met with the
group and expressed its potential support for the scheme as a
means to create a viable pilot scheme ahead of plans to establish
a CLT on its site, post 2012.The community partnership has also
A team in Digbeth, Birmingham, is proposing to use a small-scale
Community LandTrust model to build a small demonstration
sustainable development, comprising affordable/social housing, green
work spaces for environmental organisations and businesses, and a
wildlife garden, linked to neighbouring environmental community
building, The Warehouse
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set up an Industrial and Provident Society that is actively
fundraising so that it may become a viable project delivery
vehicle. The body has also attracted a respectable and HCA
approved investment partner and developer.
There is a Mayoral commitment to the delivery of a
Community LandTrust in London. Boris Johnson made a pledge
in his manifesto to deliver at least one CLT in the capital by 2011,
while also agreeing to the possible use of the HCA as a vehicle
through which this could be achieved. The possibility of
transferring the publicly-owned land in Mile End into community
ownership offers the opportunity to fulfil this commitment, but
in June 2010 the pledge to deliver a CLT was downgraded to an
agreement toinvestigate opportunities for a potential trust.
Despite this lowering of ambition, the trust remains hopeful
of taking the site into community ownership and using it for the
benefit of local people in an area where housing demand
significantly exceeds supply. They also intend to explore
opportunities for a CLT on the site of the Olympic Park in
Stratford, ensuring there is a legacy of community benefit from
the 2012 games.
Community land trusts offer a practical contribution to
resolving the affordable housing crisis. They also offer
government the opportunity to fulfil electoral promises of
decentralisation of power and influence, empowerment of local
communities, and increased partnership working. Policy
approaches which allow local areas greater influence in their
housing markets or encourage public land transfer can help
achieve these aims.
The CLTs in Headingley and in Mile End offer workable
solutions to problems in their local areas, backed by local
communities and supported by a wider community land trust
sector that is beginning to mature.The newly-formed National
CLT Network will offer practical technical support for trusts as
they aim to bring schemes forward and build on the
accomplishments of the early adopters. All urban CLTs need
now is greater assurance that the reality of the governments
Big Society matches the rhetoric.
ITom Moore works with Community Finance Solutions,
an independent CLT research and development unit within
Salford University
www.communitylandtrusts.org.uk
The London Citizens CLT for the St Clements Hospital site
brings together planners, urban designers and other
practitioners and advisors with an approved HCA delivery
partner and an enabling developer.The group has prepared a
detailed set of plans for the site, and is currently waiting for
the HCA tender process to begin.
London Citizens, an alliance of 160 member institutions
representing faith institutions, universities and schools, trade
unions and community groups, is made up of The East
London Communities Organisation (TELCO), South London
Citizens andWest London Citizens. London Citizens has its
roots in the campaign group Citizens UK, which set up
social enterprise the UK Centre for Civil Society, which in
turn runs the College of Community Organising (CoCO).
CoCO offers training opportunities for those who wish to
take part in community organising. One of CoCOs first
clients was David Miliband MP, who was advised on how to
build a Movement for Change within the Labour Party. At
the completion of the contract, the Movement for Change
had trained over a thousand local leaders in basic community
organising skills, and has been hailed by Ed Miliband as an
important legacy from the Labour leadership contest.
The London Citizens CLT has formed a registered
community land trust with 18 trustees, evenly split between
potential residents, local community representatives from
ST CLEMENTS URBAN CLT
schools, churches, mosques, Queen Mary University and
professional practitioners.Although community land trusts are
mature delivery vehicles in rural contexts, there have been
specific challenges inherent in forming an urban community
land trust.The main issue has been defining the community,
especially somewhere as diverse as east London, says Dave
Smith, Community Organiser for London Citizens.Our
solution is to work through a really wide range of local social
institutions and organisations, all of whom are represented via
the trustees.
The community has already invested considerable work in
exploring the area and preparing the plans, and has
responded extremely positively to the demands of the
development process. I hope that, when the bid assessment
process is underway, the huge mount of value that weve
already brought to understanding the potential of this site is
appreciated, says Smith. Its been a long struggle for political
recognition and support, and through building up a great
team that combines planners sitting side-by-side with
potential residents in our board meetings, it is a fight we
know we can win. Community-based schemes like this, says
Smith, can help to prevent urban drift and gentrification, and
provide an in-built subsidy that will grow rather than
diminish over time. But above all else, they will stand as a
lasting legacy to what organised communities can achieve.
Smith hopes that the recognition that this scheme is
attracting will make others take note. Weve had visits from
local councilors, then the leader of Tower Hamlets Borough
Council, and then the mayor of London at our peoples
assemblies, says Smith.And before the recent general election,
the three leaders of our main political parties accepted an
invitation to the trusts public assembly, at which 2,500 people
put the case to them for community land trust
homeownership, live on national television.
Smith also hopes that more funds will be available for
communities in future, instead of going instead to someone
who proposes to write a glossy report about national
housing policy and the sad sights to be found within parts
of town they have only ever visited onWikipedia. And with
Big Society promises just around the corner, maybe this time
hell be in luck.
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26 ENABLING
COMMUNITIES TO
DELIVERTHEIR OWN
FUTURES
30 INFORMATION, IDENTITY
AND INDIVIDUALITY
33 RE-ENGINEERINGTHE
CITY: INVISIBLE
INFRASTRUCTURE
36 CREATIVE AND CRITICAL:
BEYOND BOUNDARIES
39 LEARNINGTO LOVE
SHARED SPACE
EXISTING
COMMUNITIES
Our first consideration is: how can the inherent values of
place be identified and used to empower communities tobuy-
in to their local areas?
The inherent values of a place may be defined on two levels.
Firstly, there are those values that have been identified by
previous or existing communities, either through legislature
(protection), use-association (tradition) or cultural references
(commemoration). These may be considered expert values,
which require prior knowledge or education. Secondly, there
are those values which are universally apparent, and may
appeal to people on a basic level, with little or no prior
knowledge required. Generally these values can be linked to
sense-perceptions (awe, comfort, familiarity, beauty, disquiet).
Historic places and features play a major role in shaping
identity. Communities that have a long history with a place
understand, often at a taken-for-granted level, the role certain
buildings, places and icons play in their concept of local
identity. However ways of translating this sense of heritage to
people who are migrants from other places has been more
difficult. Conversely, both communities may relate to the non-
expert values of a place, which may gain precedence in any
community-led process.
Wherenew communities have been entrenched in an area
for some time, but have not had past values communicated
to them, those values may be lost or unappreciated, or even
viewed negatively.
In undertaking retrofit or place-making initiatives that
ENABLING COMMUNITIESTO
DELIVERTHEIR OWN FUTURES
A Big Society goal is to enable communities to deliver their own futures.
We believe that if we can provide the tools, skills and resources required to
deliver self-sustaining communities, then this goal is achievable and realistic.
By John Brown and Suzanna Pembroke
benefit the whole community, we need to be able to account
for the presence of new groups, and also challenge our own
assumptions about what is considered heritage by existing
groups. Groups such as BEN (Black Environment Network)
recognise the role heritage plays in linking people with place.
It is important to define those assets within the landscape
that have a cultural value of either an expert, or a universal
nature, The model we might adopt is that of Rapid Asset
Assessment, based on using values defined by English
Heritages Conservation Principles for assessing significance.
This baseline data survey then allows assets to be assessed
spatially, relative to one another, and their value
communicated.
Our second question is: who are the communities that hold
a stake in a place, and how can their appreciation of place-
value enhance social capital?
In the United Kingdom, our local communities are composed
of people with different ages, ethnicity, classes, health and social
experience. The way in which these social factors are handled
during regeneration and maintenance of the urban environment
can lead to opportunities for better equality, better diversity of
populations and inclusion of all, thus empowering vulnerable
groups and improving the communities wellbeing and resilience.
Or they can destabilise communities by creating social barriers,
false stereotypes and enforcing disempowerment of vulnerable
groups. Assisting local communities to take ownership over
these projects has been shown to go a long way towards
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S enhancing social capital.An exemplar of this is the BoveyTracey
Climate Action Community.
Places can be shaped to encourage a greater
appreciation and valuation by those using that place. If
communities understand the value of features within their
local space, as outlined above, and not only value but actively
engage with these features, it is likely that social capital will
be enhanced. The promotion of positive norms and the
fostering of community-led projects with reference to place-
shaping has strong potential to introduce positive change to
urban landscapes.
To achieve this, an understanding of the spectrum of
social factors present within our communities, and an
appreciation of place and what works for them is critical when
we engage with them to bring about change. This can be
through a combination of open public consultation,
multimedia consultation (paper survey, online survey, social
media focus groups), reaching less visible groups through
already trusted envoys of those communities.
A third consideration is: what barriers prevent communities
from laying claim to values of place, and enhancing their social
capital through place-shaping?
Historic forces, environmental conditions and social factors,
including ideas of social class, hierarchical roles and gender
have played a big part in the development of our current
urban environments. The communities that inhabit these
places have often inherited an urban form which was designed
not for their demographic, but usually by a body of people
from a different socio-economic background. Therefore the
physical space is at odds with their needs and values.
One of the tools we use to understand how people engage
with place measures the factors that people value about
certain aspects of the physical environment.The features being
measured range from green infrastructure and public spaces,
to museums or arts-focused venues, heritage places and eating
and drinking venues. The tool calculates the degree to which
our perception of place is affected by external influences such
as health, accessibility, ethnic background and employment
status. The tool allows us to identify the strength of these
external factors on our perception of an area and how they
affect our value. The measuring of these factors allows us to
Our tools help us to understand how people engage with place by measuring what they value about certain aspects of the physical environment
identify community profiles that are not benefiting from a
place or feature in a positive way, this then allows these
communities to receive more attention, and the reason for
their lack of positive values to be addressed. Empowering
communities to lay claim to places and to enact change,
requires the identification of these barriers.
Our fourth concern is: how are these barriers and
challenges being overcome so as to enhance value and identity
of a place for the future? It is in identifying those community
groups who will invest in a place that sustainability for the
future can best be achieved. Consultation with community
groups is aimed at defining concepts of significance of place
from the perspective of all groups claiming interest or
investment in a place. Often these interests are based on
intangibles, associated with memory, oral history, and
metaphysical perceptions of the place, as well as physical or
commemorative structures. Sometimes, although all groups
want to be involved in the consultation process, tension
between groups can develop regarding rights to speak, and
which groups interpretation of appropriate use is valid.
Mediating this potential for tension is a key part of the process
of empowerment.Also important is the need to recognise and
engage those trusted with the role of speaking for the group,
and those with the ability to translate cultural norms and
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S values between groups.The work of the group Brixton Green,
led by Pete Blake, is setting a high standard of place-making
which seeks to embed inclusivity and community ownership
at the heart of their initiative.
The remit of the project is community-led regeneration,
ensuring the community members are actually economic
shareholders in the project, owning an equal share of place,
and that the project delivers business and sustainable social
and economic outcomes relevant to that community. Similarly,
David Barries (see page 58) work with The Peoples
Supermarket in Camden has demonstrated viable economic
results for a community-led and managed co-operative,
although it could be argued that the greater value is in its
fostering of community spirit. In both cases, the role of the
mediator or translator is apparent, in engaging with different
communities.
There is a need to engage communities and their envoys
through a neutral or mediated space. The space may be
metaphysical, embodied in an individual or steering group, or
it may be a physical space relevant to all communities or it
may be both. This process of mediation should allow for the
groups to become empowered to self-govern their place.
The fifth issue is:how important is behaviour change to the
success of people-led place shaping in achieving sustainability
of identity and place, and how can behaviour change be
realized within communities?
Behaviour change is not just about advocating change, but
is rather about building upon the good that exists and
addressing the bad. Change is therefore not immediate but
rather a continuum of small steps towards realising the
outcome. Enacting behaviour change means understanding
the role of internal factors such as cultural attitudes, social
factors, norms and habits and external factors such as
policy/governance influence. This is where bridging and
linking social capital can be most effective. As noted by
Graham, Mason and Newham (2009:6), the more groups of
people are active in heritage or place-shaping activities the
greater the social capital that can be developed.
One of the areas in which behaviour change is linked to
place-shaping is through the role of bridging social capital: the
bridging of various groups within a community to work
together to a common goal.WithinArup, a key example of this
is the work of Samantha Rex and others involved in developing
strategic international approaches to the sustainable provision
of drinking water in developing countries (the triple S project).
The key to the success of this project is the realization of
common goals of disparate governments, local communities,
and aid organizations, through a three-dimensional project
management toolkit, which identifies suitable processes to
deliver desired behaviour change outcomes based on
geography, the political environment, partnering agencies, and
local community needs and expectations.
A critical process in successful behaviour change is capacity
building. If we cannot ensure that the knowledge and skills
base of the originators is maintained, and inherited by the next
generation, than incremental behaviour change will be difficult,
if not impossible, to achieve.
Finally, we consider: in order to achieve the above, what
role does policy play in allowing community to govern their
own places? Policy provides the minimum compliance and
benchmarks against which our clients and projects will need
to operate to achieve goals for place-shaping at the local level.
We identify seven key areas where policy will need to provide
an armature upon which successful community-led models
can be based.
1. Greater emphasis on delivery at the local level
2. Civic renewal
3.The challenge of our aging population
4.The eradication of inequality
5. Community cohesion
6. Economic prosperity
7. Climate change and sustainability
Arups interdisciplinary approach to projects ensures a
holistic assessment needs and assists in identifying
common values and goals.This is an area where communities
will benefit from partnering with professional organisations
and local authorities to enable place-shaping, for example by
helping to identify assistance, funding, or tools available for
communities to use.The development of those processes, and
the tools which underpin them, is an area which will require
significant contribution from external partners in the public
and private sectors, However the process need not be
controlled by them: rather they should act as mediators in the
process, empowering communities to deliver their own
positive futures.
I John Brown and Suzanna Pembroke work withArup London
www.arup.com
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INFORMATION, IDENTITY
AND INDIVIDUALITY
A customisable, ready-to-go urban realm wayfinding system named frank is bringing established and
affordable best practice to a wide range of towns and cities
Many smaller cities and towns lack strong visual identities and
systems to knit together urban realm networks, to uncover
local assets, and to highlight hidden gems. In the current
economic climate, successful towns and cities must offer
public realm quality, character and identity, backed with
amenity, vision, leadership, skills and energy, all within
squeezed budgets. Looking to the future becomes as much
about maximising existing place assets as it is about attracting
new development. Creating a recognisable character involves
identifying ways in which a place can define and trade on its
unique characteristics and on the ways in which it
communicates these assets to locals and visitors.
In the context of communicating place, there are
demonstrable benefits to be gained from bespoke wayfinding
systems. However, it is the strategy that is key the tangible,
physical structures can only be as effective as the
communication and graphics allow. The evidence base that
underpins informed decision-making about pedestrian
movement and choice continues to grow, but no-brainers are
Consistency: In line with current urban design policy, franks goal is to bring consistency to the urban realm across wayfinding structures, street furniture, feature lighting and even street naming. frank is customisable
aesthetically, in terms of adding bespoke products, and in terms of sizing/dimensions. The system is also future-proofed, and could accommodate interactive digital technologies if required
Accurate costings: frank
is already designed and
developed, allowing the
provision of accurate
up-front costs, based on
the combination of
products and their
specification.This
overcomes a major
obstacle for many clients,
who struggle to commit to
large design budgets when
the end product isnt yet
defined (or designed) S
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already leading public ream strategy across the UK: promoting
walking and cycling, enabling accessibility to diverse town and
city centre uses, showcasing local distinctiveness and the
vernacular, supporting visitor management and marketing
strategies, and enhancing the design quality and consistency of
the urban realm.
Bringing established best practice to a wide range of towns
and cities, in an affordable manner, is the driving force behind
frank, a customisable, ready-to-go urban realm system
encompassing wayfinding structures, feature lighting, street
names and urban furniture. Rooted as it is in current good
practice, frank removes a considerable portion of the design
cost and so allows smaller organisations with restricted budgets
to make a presence, says franks creative director Roger
Crabtree of fwdesign, a design and wayfinding consultancy based
in London. Working in collaboration, fwdesign andWoodhouse,
specialist manufacturer of lighting and street furniture for
Legible London, Canary Wharf and Kensington High Street,
amongst other projects, have created frank.
One of the key principles behind the new system is to offer
a best practice solution from two companies that are both
experts in their fields, at a price that makes quality design and
delivery truly accessible. Woodhouses input, which includes a
crucial role in value engineering the designs into ready-to-go
solutions at a known price, bestows additional credibility upon
frank, based on its established reputation. Together, says
Woodhouses Romy Rawlings,we have decades of experience in
developing urban realm products.We are the ideal collaboration
to bring an innovative solution like frank to market.
TANGIBLE ANDTRANSPARENT
Several large cities such as London and Bristol have invested
heavily in legibility and developed best practice ways to
encourage pedestrians to explore and discover what they have
to offer. Yet extensive investment in terms of time as well as
expense is needed to deliver such bespoke solutions. A
bespoke wayfinding system comes at a price, says Crabtree.
For a typical large-scale retail development, the total cost
Innovative: As well as providing consistency across all potential urban realm needs, frank also introduces real innovation from the marker which
helps define cycle routes and heritage trails, to the integration of solar powered illumination
including design, development, manufacture and installation
costs could range from 200,000 to 500,000. A large city
centre system could be priced at twice as much with delivery
of a tangible product in the ground often remaining a worrying
unknown until some way into the design process. This is
where frank, with its up-front transparency, offers a
significant advantage.
Time is also a key factor, adds Crabtree. Designing a
wayfinding system can take anything between six to 18 months,
depending on place, the number of stakeholders and user
groups and the planning and development processes.
Frequently, says Crabtree, the design process for physical
signage works the wrong way around. Historically, a product
designer would design a family of sign structures, hand it to the
graphic designer, and say put some information on that, and
The process of revealing the hidden
gems associated with every local area
informs our approach to wayfinding.
Deliver that, within a system like frank
that brings affordable, best practice
structures to any area without the need
for big budgets and long lead times, and
you have a winning formula

32
map-driven solutions, as opposed to predetermined directional
systems. The map can be a very powerful device to give people
reassurance about where they are,but can also encourage them
to go and discover, says Crabtree. Maps enforce the fact that
youre on a journey.Whats in front of you on the map is what
youll go and find. There may be other tiers of information, for
example transport links, that can be embedded into the
pedestrian wayfinding experience. But this has to be managed
carefully because you can overload the situation very quickly.
With frank, says Crabtree, we can now begin to deliver
wayfinding benefits for smaller towns and cities. Being small
no longer stops you having a successful information system
this is one of the key driving forces behind frank, he adds. Every
place has presence, and value, yet frequently even people living
in an area dont know what it has to offer. But there is always
good local knowledge, and making use of local expertise is key
to frank at every level.
DEFININGTHE END COST
Set within the current context of localism, using products like
frank can be free up local resource for sound strategy
development. Stakeholder consultation remains key. Successful
pedestrian wayfinding systems need to be designed to deliver
local content in an accessible, legible manner. We feel that
franks known costs allow smaller towns and cities to get the
maximum from a limited budget by ring-fencing what they need
for the implementation of tangible product costs, and putting
the biggest possible budget into strategy and information
graphics, says Rawlings.We are turning traditional signage
projects on their head by defining the end cost (the physical
product), and allowing as much as possible to be spent on
upfront strategy and information design.
In terms of design, franks physical family has the flexibility,
scalability and versatility to carry the information identified by
a local strategy.The cost of developing the physical structures
can be as much as one-third of the entire value of a wayfinding
scheme. Because were not having to engage with the design
process of the physical product, theres no cost there and
theres no lead time in that process, says Crabtree. More
resource can be put into contextualisation, graphic content,
materials and finish.
An information system should help to make people aware of
what is there, but should also be about surprise and discovery,
says Crabtree. Outside the entrance to our office, we have a
local area map for visitors, and on that map we put our favourite
places: a hidden local garden, the best cake shop in London and
a great little place to eat.This process of revealing the hidden
gems that are associated with every local area by those that
know it well informs our approach to wayfinding. Deliver that,
within a system like frank that brings affordable, best practice
structures to any area without the need for big budgets and
long lead times, and we think you have a winning formula.
I Juliana ORourke spoke with Roger Crabtree and
Romy Rawlings
www.fwd-product.com
Unique and customisable: No two versions of frank will look the
same from the steel frame to the choice of plinth, the graphic style,
colour, materials and finishes are customised for each project. frank
also brings new products into play, for example a routemarker
Sustainability: frank offers eco-friendly illuminated mapping at an
affordable price via solar power, and has been designed with 100
per cent recyclability in mind
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then someone would have thought about how and where to
place the structures in the context of the street.This is the
reverse of what we do now. For us, strategy drives the
information and the information then drives the physical entity.
That entity may not be a structure at all, he adds. It may be
integrated with the environment, or be part of a landscape or
part of a building.
CIVIC CONSISTENCY
Even if budgets and lead times allow, wayfinding projects often
miss opportunities to take a holistic approach to the
environment; encompassing signage structures, street furniture
and street names. Most cities and towns also have a wide array
of maps from the many different agencies involved in civic
governance, and theres precious little organisation or
consistency. Through both consultancy and frank, Crabtrees
aim is to offer wayfinding solutions across all touchpoints, and
through all media, that are a consistent extension of the place
brand. The team behind frank will always put the emphasis on