BRIEFING

URBAN VILLAGES
- AN INTRODUCTION

This briefing sheet is a summary of Urban Villages - A concept for

creating mixed-use urban developments on a sustainable scale -
published by and available from the Urban Villages Forum, price £30.
The briefing sheet is produced with the permission of the Urban
Villages Forum and may be freely copied.
For further information on the concept of urban villages, please contact
the Urban Villages Forum, 10 Berners Mews, London W1P 3LF; tel
0171 462 0012; fax 0171 462 0046.
e-mail uvf@urban-villages-forum.org.uk
http://www.urban-villages-forum.org.uk
Membership of the Forum available on subscription at different levels,
ranging from student to core sponsor - details from the Forum.
CREATING AN URBAN VILLAGE
Urban villages can be created:
• on greenfield or derelict land where no communities currently
exist or
• within existing developments, by incremental change and
progressive redevelopment.
An example might be a 1930s single land use housing estate,
wholly dependent on car use: work would involve demolishing
existing housing and creating woods, or copses, higher density
housing, town squares and so on - radical moves, but necessary to
re-engineer communities that have been designed around car use.

Involving people is a key. - See the section on Public Involvement.

SUMMARY Urban Village - Key Characteristics

An urban village is a settlement created on greenfield or brownfield site, • mixed use development
or out of an existing development. Its features are: • 1:1 ratio between jobs and residents
• high density • acre size - 40 hectare - say 600m by 600m
• mixed use • all within under 10 minutes walk
• mixed tenure • population 3,000 - 5,000 - large enough to support range of
• high quality activities and facilities
• based on walking. • small enough to enable people to recognise each other and to
Population 3,000-5,000 people encourage neighbourliness.
Size - up to 900 metres across (10 minute walk) • pedestrian friendly environment
Facilities - wide range, including access to open space, • catering for the car without encouraging car use
Coordinated and planned by a master plan and a series of codes
Human community - an involved and interlocked community with its Buildings
own identity. Full range of types and sizes of buildings
Higher density towards the centre of the village
Government Policy mixed use within buildings eg shops below, residents above
The Government’s 1998 policy statement on housing refers to urban Housing - full range of types, flats, retirements homes, buildings
villages as an option for the future specifically mentioning the suitable for work from home, student housing etc;
millennium village at Greenwich. Mixed tenure for both residential and business accommodation.
Facilities
WHERE DO OUR EXISTING TOWNS • daily shopping • some recreation and cultural
• basic health facilities
FALL DOWN? • primary schools • employment
Urban monoculture - single use developments - eg large housing • greenspace - increasing
estates create problems: towards periphery of village
• unfriendly external environment Central square/community area
• creates work, leisure, home communities all in different places, • focus for community
none of which reinforce each other. (leading to weak communities) • showpiece for the village
• creates dependence on car use (leading to pollution and congestion) • buildings higher than others in village - but using smaller plots
Absence of variety in architectural styles or land uses, similarity
• buildings of architectural distinction and variety
between new development right across the country - erosion of local
• surrounding street grid - fine grained - small street blocks, with
character and distinctiveness.
numerous alleyways and providing excellent pedestrian access to
Yet there are examples of desirable and successful communities with a
the central square
strong identity.
Away from the urban village centre
Walking encouraged - through layout of streets and buildings.
WHAT IS AN URBAN VILLAGE? Taller buildings sited prominently to emphasise the features of the
An urban village is a concept of a settlement which is small enough to terrain - eg tallish building on a rise - greater impact and interest.
create a community in the truest sense of the word - a group of people Large/Important buildings -locate on key sites to create visual focus
who support each other, but big enough to maintain a reasonable cross Traffic generating development - should be located towards the edge
section of facilities. Walking determines the size - a 10 minute walk of the village, where they can be served by landscaped boulevards, or
from one side to the other. To provide a sufficiently large population to worked into the greenspace separating the urban village from others.
maintain a range of community facilities all within a walkable distance Parks, gardens, green open spaces - small and numerous within the
means the density of development must be high. An urban village is village - large open spaces and wildlife areas on the periphery
densely developed in the centre, with town squares and key community
focal points, density eases away from the centre, and the boundary of Beyond the urban village boundary
the village is marked by greenspace. Nearby urban villages can provide complementary local facilities, plus
facilities to cater for several groups of villages eg secondary school, etc.
PLANNING THE URBAN VILLAGE
Each Urban Village is planned and developed through a Master Plan,
backed by a series of codes, and an environment action plan covering

Briefing Sheets are provided free of charge to help increase knowledge and awareness. They may be freely copied. Care is taken to ensure information is correct, however readers are advised to consult source
documents for authoritative information. The Institution of Civil Engineers is a registered charity No 210252, 1 Great George Street, London SW1P 3AA.
how the environmental impact of the village is to be managed and • street furniture
minimised. • central square, and other squares,
• Master plan • streets, footpaths, mews courtyards
• Infrastructure Code - (covering relationship with roads and • parks, gardens,
services of adjoining areas) • planting - general character and quality
• Urban Code - (covering urban form: size and layout of streets, grid
pattern, relationship of streets, buildings) Environment Action Plan
• Architecture Code -(materials, shape of roofs, size and proportion • air, water and soil pollution; noise
of doors and windows) • waste management and recycling
• Public Spaces Code - (how the public realm is to be laid out, paved • energy efficiency
and furnished) • sewage treatment and disposal
• street cleansing
Master Plan • wildlife and habitats
Describing the whole project from initial concept through to detailed
implementation. Includes business plan, the balance between land uses
and their location, mix of tenure, environmental impact, plus the codes. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT
Residents and users need to be supportive of their urban village.
Infrastructure Code Their opinion is invaluable on
Roads • mix of uses
• details of connections • layout of the village
• standards of construction, surfacing materials, kerb (where used) • conservation of existing features
• facilities/amenities to be provided
Services • how the village will relate to the surrounding area
• services by statutory undertakers - standard of service and Responsibility for design rests with the promoter of the development
appearance and their professional advisers.
• treatment of visible service and drainage infrastructure eg grilles,
grids, gullies, inspection covers, gullies, cables, pipes etc Mechanisms:
For proposed brownfield developments
Landscape and Land form • public meetings
• changes to land contours • market research
• existing tree groups and other landscape features • interviews in respondents’ homes
• provision of structural landscape • “Planning for Real or planning workshop sessions
• advice from special interest groups
Urban Form Code For greenfield sites it may be possible to form a group of individuals
An urban village should have its own unifying identity but should and businesses who are genuinely interested in moving to the
nonetheless be varied development.
• “village footprint” should be rounded - ideally no more than 900
metres across Promoters Checklist
• Street layout should reflect existing natural features, contours and • involve as many groups as possible
existing buildings of significance. • allow adequate time for process
• Avoid culs de sac - provide linkages Consultation must be
• Public spaces 25-35% of total area • genuine and credible
• Parks, sports and recreation fields etc should form the boundaries • proposals open to amendment
of the village • public must be kept informed
• Facilities which will be used by other communities should be sited • inform
on squares, boulevards or on the edge of the urban village. • provide a clear contact point for the public
• share problems with the community when they arise
Grid • keep personal issues private
• Blocks should have their short sides along principal streets and their
• establish a community development trust
long sides leading off the principal streets.
• provide training and job opportunities for local people during
• Blocks should decrease in size nearer the centre - to improve
development
pedestrian permeability.
• encourage a community to develop - voluntary service
• Footpaths should cut across blocks to encourage walking
Involvement must be a long term, continuing process.
• Urban public spaces should be planned as a whole - viz.: the
buildings and the space should be planned together. URBAN VILLAGES IN THE MAKING
Location of Buildings
Civic Buildings should be dispersed rather than grouped together Hulme, Manchester New schemes:
Reserve higher buildings for key sites Crown Street, Glasgow Ancoats, Manchester
West Silvertown, London Millennium Village, Greenwich
Car parking Poundbury, Dorset
Central parking where required should be basement or semi-basement
underneath central courtyards Robert Huxford 4th August 1998
Multi-story car parks should be small, dispersed and well screened - eg
by being behind other buildings.

Architecture Code
A code to set the character of buildings covering:
• materials
• shapes of roofs
• details of windows, doors, boundaries, paths and drives,
conservatories and extensions visible from public open space.

Public Spaces Code

Covering design and finishes used in the public realm - and their
maintenance

Briefing Sheets are provided free of charge to help increase knowledge and awareness. They may be freely copied. Care is taken to ensure information is correct, however readers are advised to consult source
documents for authoritative information. The Institution of Civil Engineers is a registered charity No 210252, 1 Great George Street, London SW1P 3AA.