a question re urban design dept

Does anyone have any best practice studies of towns (rather than large cities) which have instituted an Urban Design Dept separate to, or in conjunction with, the Planning and Design Department of a town? They may have started as public advisory groups, then evolved into paid staff within the municipal operation.

I have looked through the info on the RUDI website and haven't seen anything that's appropriate for my purposes.

Our town's official plan has 77 references to urban design, yet no mechanism to ensure its incorporation. I made a motion at council that we look to forming a department, and whether it's an advisory group or paid staff will come out of staff recommendation. Staff are opposed, by the way, and use cost as an excuse. My user name certainly states my position: "U(urban)D(design) is key to sustainability". I'm looking for good examples of towns having instituted urban design components, the costs associated with it, the differences its made/can make, public perceptions, how the town precess works, how it benefits developers and residents, etc.

Thanks again for such a great website. Jan

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Chelmsford BC
Submitted by Clare Wright on January 23, 2007 - 20:20.
We are currently entering into the final stages of research for just this purpose. During the course of our research we came across Chelmsford Borough Council that has a very strong in-house team and you may wish to contact them to find out more. Best wishes and do contact me if you would like further info.
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