Table Of ContentA Beginner’s
Guide to Urban
Design and
Development
This book provides invaluable guidance to all those with an interest in
placemaking and the built environment, from those with no experience
to those who have worked for many years in industry, illustrating key
principles that will secure higher quality, more sustainable design in
accessible, jargon- free language.
The author explains the design process in a straightforward way,
exploring the different roles and highlighting the opportunities and limita-
tions different agencies have to influence design over the various stages
of the process. Examples from the UK and worldwide look at how the
system operates and how best practice can make a real difference on
the ground. Case studies examine situations where quality or sustain-
ability fell s hort – a nd how this could have been avoided. This book
also showcases a variety of evaluation tools, explaining how they oper-
ate, and giving guidance on how to create project- specific tools to drive
schemes forward. With community empowerment at its core, the book
explains technical language and shares bountiful knowledge to broaden
place democracy and make influencing design accessible to many, not
just a few.
This is a book that brings together all the various parties involved
in shaping the built environment, demonstrating that collaboration and
mutual understanding are key to achieving better quality, more sustain-
able design.
Laura B. Alvarez is a writer, critic, and commentator, with more than
20 years in international urban and architectural practice, in which she
has designed award- winning schemes and written ground- breaking
planning guidance that has placed democracy at its core.
Laura’s research on socially sustainable neighbourhoods led to the
development of applicable theory and has been widely praised for its
innovative approach. She lectures at various universities and collabo-
rates with acclaimed institutions, publications, and broadcast media.
A Beginner’s
Guide
to Urban
Design and
Development
The ABC of Quality,
Sustainable Design
Laura B. Alvarez
Designed cover image: Laura B. Alvarez.
First published 2023
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Laura B. Alvarez
The right of Laura B. Alvarez to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or
other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying
and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress C ataloging-i n-P ublication Data
Names: Alvarez, Laura B., author.
Title: A beginner’s guide to urban design and development:
the ABC of quality, sustainable design / Laura B. Alvarez.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2023. |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2022049695 (print) | LCCN 2022049696 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781032154145 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032154152 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781003244059 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Sustainable design. | City planning—Environmental aspects. |
Sustainable architecture. | Sustainable urban development.
Classification: LCC NA9053.E58 A48 2023 (print) |
LCC NA9053.E58 (ebook) | DDC 307.1/416—dc23/eng/20221026
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022049695
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022049696
ISBN: 9781032154145 ( hbk)
ISBN: 9781032154152 ( pbk)
ISBN: 9781003244059 ( ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9 781003244059
Typeset in Helvetica
by codeMantra
Contents
List of figures viii
List of tables xiv
Foreword xvi
Preface xviii
Acknowledgements xx
Acronyms and abbreviations xxi
Introduction 1
1 Understanding good, sustainable design 6
What ‘ makes place’ and the need for placemaking
Good design in simple words
The beauty debate
The design quality debate
The sustainable design debate
Design quality and sustainability
Lessons learnt
TOOL 1: Sustainable design priorities checklist
2 The design process 43
Knowing where to begin
Case studies
Case Study 2.1: A school designed with the support of
social sciences
Case Study 2.2: Securing land value
Lessons learnt
Tool 2: Urban design plan of work
Stage 1: Context
vi Contents
Stage 2: Networks
Stage 3: Agents and influencers
Stage 4: Place vision
Stage 5: Accountability tools
Stage 6: Site analysis
Stage 7: Data gathering
Stage 8: SWOT or CO
Stage 9: Development framework
Stage 10: Supplementary documents
Stage 11: Concept design
Stage 12: Development brief
Stage 13: Developed design
Stage 14: Detailed design
Stage 15: P ost-o ccupancy
3 Design agents 100
The design team
Case studies
Case Study 3.1: A project with 60 clients
Case Study 3.2: Urban supermarket
Case Study 3.3: Social housing
Case Study 3.4: Office building
Lessons learnt
Tool 3: Design agents’ map
4 Influencing design 132
Transparency and trust
Why do we like the familiar?
From coercing to empowering
Closing the influence loop
Case studies
Case Study 4.1: Neighbourhood plan engagement
Case Study 4.2: Social housing engagement
Case Study 4.3: Two towns engagement
Lessons learnt
Tool 4: Influence programme
Contents vii
5 Design form 170
An issue of skills
Case studies
Case Study 5.1: Housing in context
Case Study 5.2: Village extension in context
Lessons learnt
Tool 5: Critical form parameters
6 Evaluating design 230
Objectivity of design appraisals
Case studies
Case Study 6.1: Edification code
Case Study 6.2: Code compliance appraisals
Case Study 6.3: Design quality system
Case Study 6.4: Design code
Lessons learnt
Tool 6: Design evaluation
Conclusions: The ABC of quality, sustainable design 257
Accountability
Balance
Collaboration
Glossary 262
Bibliography 265
Further reading 268
Index 271
List of figures
1.1 Ramification of built environment specialisms. 8
1.2 Human perception and interpretation of space. 12
1.3 Fraction of the ceiling of the Roman Pantheon dome,
Rome, Italy. 15
1.4 Friends resting after a bike ride at Attenborough
Nature Reserve in Nottingham, UK. 15
1.5 Notre Dame, Paris, France. Footprint in context. 17
1.6 York Minster, York, UK. Footprint in context. 17
1.7 Notre Dame, Paris, France. 18
1.8 York Minster, York, UK. 19
1.9 Human perception and interpretation of beauty. 21
1.10 The three spheres of sustainability. Adapted from
Passet, 1996 by the author. 26
1.11 Loch Lomond, Trossachs, Scotland. 27
2.1 Layout of the neighbourhood arrangement and the
proposal compared. 52
2.2 Familiar environment recreated through design:1. the
neighbourhood arrangement, 2. the proposal from
bird’s eye view, 3. the proposed basins area, 4. The
proposed dining area. 53
2.3 Comparative areas of the existing town in the North
and the proposed extension in the South. 55
2.4 Garden sizes as proposed by the authors of
Responsive Environments ( 1886). 57
2.5 Three types of urban pattern cul- de- sacs ( or dead-
end roads), curved streets, and straight streets ( or
cadastral pattern). 58
List of figures ix
2.6 Traditional plotting process versus an efficient plotting
process. 59
2.7 Some of the plot design parameters set by legislation
or convention in the UK. 60
2.8 Residential street in The Malings, Newcastle, UK. 70
2.9 Residential street in Trent Basin, Nottingham, UK. 70
2.10 Residential street in Houlton, Rugby, UK. 71
2.11 Service strip in residential development in Nottingham, UK. 71
2.12 Mural in the Catholic area of Belfast City, Northern
Ireland, UK. 77
2.13 Mural in the Protestant area of Belfast City, Northern
Ireland, UK. 77
2.14 Engagement groups according to communication tools
and workshop strategies required during events. 81
2.15 Example of poor integration between the proposal and
the setting. 85
2.16 Concept masterplan example. 89
2.17 Comparison between layouts with equal streets
and layouts with street hierarchy. 92
3.1 Examples of a crossing and junction designed with an
urban design approach and a crossing designed with
a highway engineer approach. 106
3.2 Existing project layout. 109
3.3 Proposed project layout. 110
3.4 Supermarket as proposed following the food- store
model and supermarket proposal adapting to the context. 116
3.5 Supermarket proposal in 3D. 117
3.6 Roles of the different teams involved in the project. 119
3.7 Office building location plan and layout analysis. 125
4.1 The change trilogy. 133
4.2 Primary school children working on a city
centre masterplan. 135
4.3 Members of the community working on design
guidance for a city in the UK. 136
4.4 Concept design in plan, showing the main road as a
t ree-l ined avenue. 140
