Built environment comment & blogs

Expert comment on town planning, urban regeneration, economic development, urban design, sustainable development & community building.

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Opinion: Get creative with ground floor activation to help new urban neighbourhoods thrive

The build to rent sector's focus on community and the long term is driving creative approaches to activating ground floor spaces in urban residential development, writes Pete Ladhams.

Opinion: Adapting city plans after the pandemic

Swansea's projects are responding to the challenges brought by the pandemic and suggest potential routes to post-pandemic regeneration, writes Caroline Searle.

Opinion: Learning what works in new neighbourhoods

There are numerous barriers to incorporating the popular characteristics of the vernacular into new places, but a fresh approach could provide valuable lessons, writes Chris Brown.

Opinion: Where's the money for levelling up?

The levelling up and regeneration bill introduced to parliament is lacking in the resources, will and planning needed to deliver change, writes Tim Williams.

Opinion: Looking for the value in biodiversity net gain

Biodiversity net gain may present challenges in its potential to reduce developer contributions or limit land values but it can also add value, writes Francis Truss.

Opinion: What a new development tax could mean for delivery of infrastructure and affordable homes

Lawrence Turner looks at the potential implications of replacing CIL and S106 developer contributions with a single flat-rate levy.

Opinion: Gove's squeeze on housebuilders could push them away from brownfield sites

Housing secretary Michael Gove's plans to secure a further contribution from housebuilders to help remedy the cladding crisis could have unintended consequences, writes Joey Gardiner.

Opinion: The three megatrends that could redefine placemaking

Policy shifts and social and climate realities may have implications for businesses that have prospered in the environment of the last few years, writes Chris Brown.

Opinion: Could public services be key to town centre revival?

The decline in high streets and town centres presents an opportunity for local authorities to improve service provision while driving regeneration, writes Alexandra Houghton.

Opinion: Developers need to deliver on ESG commitments

Recent plans for developer levies in Australia to fund social or green homes have been dropped in the face of fierce lobbying. Developers can and should do better, writes Tim Williams.

Opinion: Cutting the environmental cost of obsolescence in the built environment

With many former Debenhams stores still empty and more property at risk of becoming outmoded in the future, there is a need to focus on ensuring buildings can stand the test of time, writes Trevor Morriss.

Opinion: Delivering on the beauty agenda

With local authorities reporting back on experiences of piloting the National Model Design Code, Ananya Banerjee looks at whether and how its objective of increasing beauty can be realised.

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