Built environment comment & blogs

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

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Opinion: One step forward for new settlements programme

Last month's revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) contained an expanded section on supporting large-scale development that was much more detailed than either the existing framework or the March consultation draft.

Opinion: You can't reduce house prices by building more homes

That's because housing demand reflects the ability to finance a mortgage, rather than the need for shelter, writes Tim Williams.

Opinion: Measuring social impact

If we could reliably identify and measure the social impact of regeneration, we would almost certainly want to rethink how we go about placemaking, writes Chris Brown.

Opinion: Pressure on park homes

A long established community of park homes in Berkshire has become the focus for a planning conflict that raises questions about homeowner rights, says Michael Hardware.

Opinion: Housing market needs new players and new models

The spectre of weakening housebuilding output has been raised by the government's latest quarterly housebuilding figures, which show year-on-year falls in both housing starts and completions.

Opinion: The needs of suburban motorists drive city road policy

Walkability has been designed out of Australian cities, and designing it back in needs to start with traffic lights, argues Tim Williams.

Opinion: A little less talk, a little more evidence

Discussion of the benefits of great placemaking can too easily be dismissed as subjective. More hard evidence is needed, says Chris Brown.

Opinion: We have to disrupt the housing market

Speculation has helped to make city housing unaffordable, but Singapore has a very different model and remains a city for all, writes Tim Williams.

Opinion: Market forces can have social costs in regeneration

Revival of places like south London's Bermondsey Square brings vitality, but market forces can push gentrification too fast and too far, writes Chris Brown.

Opinion: NPPF Garden City omission is hard to justify

Last month more than 60 local authorities, masterplanners and developers signed an open letter to the government decrying its decision to drop the reference in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to 'Garden City' principles.

Opinion: The root of the city housing crisis lies in banking

While many have been asking how we secure cities for all, in some cities whole streets are now for no one, writes Tim Williams, and ultimately banking is to blame.

Opinion: Look to the community for inspirational housing projects

In a number of cities around the world there are community led housing projects that are inspirational in their financial mechanisms, delivery models and social value, writes Chris Brown.

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