In 2018 the Place Alliance, supported by funds from the UDG, conducted a survey of Design Skills in local authorities, finding a serious design skills shortage.
“Almost half of local planning authorities had no dedicated in-house design capacity at all.”
A strip of land along the former Eastern Curve railway line was transformed into a much-needed public green open space for Dalston by local residents together with muf architect/art and J&L Gibbons Landscape.
The Government has adopted the Climate Change Committee’s Sixth Carbon Budget in full. The Budget charts a course to net-zero emissions via a target in 2035 for reducing emissions by 80 per cent compared to 1990 levels. This decision will require significant follow-up changes in policies and guidance affecting the built environment.
The County of London Plan 1943, coloured plate 1, Social and Functional Analysis
When I worked in Birmingham City Council’s Architect’s Department in 1969, much of the huge council housing production was being done in peripheral places not previously built upon.
Professor Nick Tyler is the Director of the UCL Centre for Transport Studies where he has established the Accessibility Research Group which aims to identify projects that make the world more sympathetic to people's needs through his work at the new UCL research facility, PEARL
More than 100 people joined this webinar on logistics; its objective was to explore the implications of accommodating contemporary logistics facilities in new design guidance.
Chaired by Scott Elliott Adams, three speakers from different backgrounds expressed their views on what makes the character and local distinctiveness of a place, to guide better design.
This year will see a wealth of research and new ideas emerging, as we head towards the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow on 1–12 November 2021. In this article, we highlight the latest work of the UK’s Climate Change Committee and flag the opportunities to engage with research feeding into COP26.
Before I built a wall I’d ask to know What I was walling in or walling out, And to whom I was like to give offence. Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, That wants it down.
Lines from Mending Wall by Robert Frost
Isola Bella site plan by Georges Gromort, The Landscape of Man by Geoffrey and Susan Jellicoe
The former Adnams brewery distribution depot in Southwold has been transformed by Ash Sakula Architects into a convivial, mixed use development traversed by intimate streets and a pocket space
Jointly hosted by the UDG and the Landscape Institute (London Branch) and chaired by Paul Reynolds, this event explored how to deal with the climate emergency by making schemes sustainable and resilient for the long term.
Chairing this event, Paul Reynolds asked the panellists ‘where will we be working?’ His introduction suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic will have lasting effects on the world of work. It will change how people work in homes, offices, factories, shops and distribution warehouses.
UDG Director, Robert Huxford, outlines current best practice guidance and standards in street design.
Taken from the Urban Design Directory 2020/21.
Jane Manning, Director at Allies and Morrison Urban Practitioners, finds that urban designers will have new roles in the circular economy.
Taken from the Urban Design Directory 2020/21
Katja Stille, Director at Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design, and Chair of the Urban Design Group, considers the wider opportunities of designing for children.
Taken from the Urban Design Directory 2020/21
Roger Evans, urban designer, architect and town planner, explains what makes good places and shapes urban design ideas.
Taken from the Urban Design Directory 2020/21
James Delaney is a Board member for Block by Block, which is a foundation backed by Mojang, Microsoft, and UN-Habitat to empower communities to turn neglected urban spaces into vibrant places. Their work ensures that marginalised voices are brought to the fore to help co-design the places we live, making for stronger communities, better public spaces, and a fairer society.
Over 750 participants attended this introduction to the National Model Design Code (NMDC) led by Joanna Averley, the MHCLG’s Chief Planner, as part of the new National Planning Policy Framework.
