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The government is spearheading a new era in town-building. Ten environmentally friendly settlements of up to 10,000 homes each are already on the drawing board and, with 50 further bids for future ‘eco town’ status now submitted, that number looks set to rise. Over the past 25 years, the settlements that are the precursors of the UK’s proposed eco towns have been slowly developing

As Lord Rogers recently noted of many sub-urban areas: ‘If you travel just a few blocks from revitalised city centres you can see shoddy housing and wasted land, which shows how many problems remain. Most worrying are the signs that the government is losing its nerve: that it is beginning to focus on quantity at the expense of quality...’ Following the publication in July 2007 of the Housing Green Paper, with its plans for 3 million new homes, there has never been a better time to tackle these issues. See below for overviews and quick links to some of RUDI's relevant content...

 

Derby Cityscape, the Urban Regeneration Company set up in 2003 to regenerate Derby's city centre, appointed Nick Corbett its urban designer in 2004, making it the first URC to create such a post. From the beginning, says Nick, the URC has had a commitment to high quality urban design including public realm

 

The Waterfront Communities Project - a learning network of nine North Sea cities engaged in regenerating their waterfronts - has concluded with the publication of a 'toolkit' outlining their experiences

The Cool Sea is a 180-page publication which aims to sum up the tools and methods which can be applied to waterfront regeneration tasks. Edinburgh City Council took the lead in the three year EU funded Waterfront Communities Project, working in association with Heriot-Watt University's School of the Built Environment

One of the most frustrating aspects of the job for anyone involved in urban and landscape design is that their contribution to a project can often be the first to be cut back when budgets are drawn up.

In this report, RUDI explores initiatives that map the value of good design and demonstrate to local authorities and others that good design can bring benefit measurable in financial terms.

What strategies can be adopted to promote the case for a better public realm with local authorities and developers? Will the Government’s new Manual for Streets help us to create better places? Or will efforts to put a price tag on better design, as CABE and Transport for London are now striving to do, help bring about the change we are looking for?

The debate about density is not new, indeed, it has been taking place for at least the last one hundred years but, at this particular stage in urban development, it is now timely to ensure that there is considerate debate and discussion on the subject. Sue James, architect and consultant with Lovejoy, sums up a fascinating day's seminar at the recent Cityscape conference on this key issue facing all those in planning our cities of the future.