Urban Design 105 - Winter 2008

Publication Date: 01 January 2008

Following the publication of Manual for Streets, the latest issue of Urban Design, the quarterly journal of the Urban Design Group, covers diverse and new approaches to the public realm aimed at recovering the joy of streets. For a good part of the 20^th Century those responsible for our streets were more concerned with moving cars fluidly and safely. Today we have rediscovered them as places to enjoy and Issue 105 of Urban Design considers ways of promoting and achieving this aim. The issue has been generously sponsored by Colin Buchanan & partners

The issue’s topic editor, Robert Huxford who coincidentally is now the Urban Design Group’s Director, has assembled a collection of papers by experts, most of whom have been involved in the production of the DCLG and DfT Manual for Streets. Phil Jones explains the thinking behind that document. Tim Pharoah provides an overview of changes in street design. Ben Hamilton-Baillie calls for a re-assessment for the practices in the streets. Martina Juvara addresses the question of measuring value. Paul Hewson introduces the world of evidence based design and Ben Castells rounds up by giving his view on the importance of Manual for Streets.

On a slightly different but related topic, Karl Kropf puts forward a low-tech, high-intelligence methodology for analyzing movement. Michael Short looks at the different ways that two English cities deal with tall buildings in their historic cores.

Starting in the Summer, Urban Design has been publishing schemes shortlisted for the Francis Tibbalds Prize which will be awarded in September. In this issue an urban extension in Iceland, Urridaholt, designed by John Thompson & Partners, and a masterplan for Merton Rise in Basingstoke prepared by Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design are presented.