Planning for sustainable places

West of England Partnership Conference‘Meeting the challenges, Achieving our ambitions’

Paul Lavelle27 November 2009

Planning for sustainable places

I. What are the attributes of a good place?

II. Why should plan for this at the sub-regional scale?

III. Example: Cambridge Futures

NATION REGION SUB-REGION CITY/TOWN NEIGHBOURHOOD SITE

… people want ‘place’

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Impo

rtant

in c

urre

nt h

ome

Source: Savills Research

Valuing sustainable urbanism(Savills research for Prince’s Foundation)

Places that are connected, overlapping and distinctive command greater value(economic, social, environmental)

Regression Plot

Broad purpose

Maximise opportunity for exchange

Maximise choice

Overarching values 

Equal opportunities / social justice

Cultural identity/diversity

Environmental sustainability

Economic prosperity

Principles of a ‘good place’

well-madedecently-proportioned easy to walk aroundgardens, parks and squaresadaptable

Quality of life

Placemaking

‘Place’ is becoming more important as

a driver of economic growth and

prosperity. As technology and other

changes enable labour, capital and

information to move between countries

with increasing ease, the particular

characteristics of places, and their

flexibility to respond to economic

trends, become even more crucial to

economic prosperity and resilience.

Local Government White Paper

Drivers of change Population and household growth

Cities consume 75% of all resources and produce 75% of all waste 96 months till we reach a tipping point on climate change We have to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

by 80% by 2050, and 50% are related to the built environment

The International Energy Agency predicts an oil crunch as soon as 2012

Drivers of changeAdapting places to environmental change

Drivers of changeHealth and well-being

sustainable transportgreen infrastructureaccessible and efficient servicestherapeutic environmentsadaptable accommodation...quality of place

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functional urban areas increasing in size– disintegration of employment and residential locations

– high mobility

– increase in dual career households

no. of travel to work areas

TTW areas year

642 1981

308 1991Source: RTPI (2006) Uniting Britain

Source: Hall P and Pain K (2006) The Polycentric Metropolis

Drivers of change:The way the economy works

increasing emphasis on place– people + firms + physical environment

– effects of globalisation and the move towards knowledge economies

A placemaking approach at the sub-regional scale

A process of creating and managing socially, environmentally and economically successful places

by... working across sectors including housing, health, transport, employment and education,

to... achieve well planned, well designed and well managed cities, towns and neighbourhoods.

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Understanding the components of place and the role of spatial planning

a clear and engaging ‘story of change’

an urban design/spatial framework for delivery of strategic objectives / projects

drawing on strategic themes

a way to resolve issues around sub-regional working within the planning system

New generation policy model / Statutory / Top-down

Montpellier SCOT

Drawing on examples from the UK and beyond

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Integration model / Non-statutory to statutory / Bottom-

up and top-down

Example – predictive analysis model:Cambridge Futures

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Cambridge Futures

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Cambridge Futures

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Cambridge: Alternative Futures

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Cambridgeshire Quality Charter

CommunityPlaces where people live out of choice...

Connectivity...with easy access for all to jobs and services

ClimatePlaces that anticipate climate change in ways that advance the desirability of development

CharacterPlaces with distinctive neighbourhoods...

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Lessons from CambridgeshireUsing design in planning: generating positive options

Facilitating decision making and aligning interests among many stakeholders and communities

Modelling and testing options – eg. exploring options for urban extensions informally, outside the planning system

Giving confidence to challenge assumptions

Paul Lavelle

plavelle@cabe.org.uk

www.cabe.org.uk

Thank you