Built environment comment & blogs

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

Page Title RSS feed

Latest Comment

Opinion: Industry and homes do mix

As technology and environmental regulations change, industry is returning to the capital in schemes that mix housing and making, writes Chris Brown.

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.

Principal Planner | Cotswolds | Flexible working | Potential relocation package Lewis Davey Cotswolds office - but flexible working (including some home working) is possible
Experienced Town Planners | Swindon | 3+ years'+ UK experience Lewis Davey Swindon, Wiltshire
Town Planners with 5+ years’ experience | N. Birmingham | Accessible location Lewis Davey North Birmingham, West Midlands
Planning Consultant | Oxfordshire | £35,000 - £60,000 Lewis Davey South Oxfordshire
Northern Arc Strategic Development Manager Mid Sussex District Council Haywards Heath, West Sussex
Lead Advisor Macdonald & Co London (Central), London (Greater)
Senior Planner/Senior Consultant - Economic Development Macdonald & Co London (Central), London (Greater)
Future Place Project Manager Royal Institute of British Architects Central London - Regents Park.
Heads of Development Planning Wood Environment & Infrastructure Solutions UK Limited London and Birmingham
Senior & Principal Planning Officers Vivid Resourcing London