URBAN DESIGN Journal Issue

URBAN DESIGN 107 Summer 2008

LIVERPOOL: EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE

To celebrate Liverpool as European Capital of Culture 2008, the latest issue of Urban Design, explores various aspects of this great north-western city. Dr. Robert McDonald, reader in Architecture at Liverpool John Moores University is the topic editor for this issue and he has assembled a series of fascinating articles on issues ranging from the consequences of the designation of the city on UNESCO’s World Heritage list written by John Hinchcliffe, through the Liverpool Biennial presented by Lewis Biggs, to a discussion on the relationship between city design and health by Dr. John Ashton. Specific schemes such as Liverpool One and Ropewalks are critically analysed by Rob McDonald and Bill Maynard of Urban Splash respectively. Colin Dyas of Liverpool vision gives a very personal view of place and Professor Douglas Clelland offers a different view of masterplanning. Finally John Stonard wonders what the long term effect of the European Capital of Culture designation might be. The Urban Design Group will further explore some of these themes at its conference on 10-11 October 2008.

The Summer issue includes the second of four reports on seminars organised by the ESRC which look at urban Design and the British urban Renaissance. These seminars are being organised in cities round the country and the current issue covers Manchester, Nexcastle, Sheffield and Leeds. A contribution by Jeremy Caulton advocates ‘slow’ design whilst Lily Kong of Singapore makes an overseas contribution to the creativity debate covered in the previous issue.

An innovation started in issue 106 was the Urban Design Interview which presents the views of a colleague who has contributed to the profession but is not normally in the limelight.

Finally the last two schemes shortlisted for the Francis Tibbalds prize are published in this issue. During the next few weeks, the group’s membership will be asked to vote for the best of the eight shortlisted schemes which will receive the prize to be awarded in September 2008.