THE

01 FUNDAMENTALS

1.1 The importance of urban design 1.2 Key design principles 1.3 How the Compendium is organised
 When the Urban Design Compendium was first published in 2000
it noted that quality of design was becoming one of the most
important criteria in determining whether a project should be
eligible for public funding. Since this time understanding of the
importance of design quality in creating places people want to live
and work in has grown. All development proposals – whether for
new development or redevelopment of small infill sites – need to
demonstrate that they will be delivering quality places.

It is therefore vital that those evaluating the quality of design

proposals have some guidance on what forms of urban design
work well and why. Similarly those developing proposals need
information on what will be expected of them in terms of their
investment in project design.

The purpose of the Urban Design Compendium is to help equip all

those involved in the delivery of places with guidance on achieving
and assessing the quality of urban design in developing and
restoring urban areas.

It is not an exhaustive text. The Compendium provides an analysis

of core design issues through the different stages of the project
process, from assessment of overall context to deciding the detail
of proposed developments. It is principally about the substance of
urban design in creating the product. In other words, how do we
change the urban landscape to create places where people want to
live, work and socialise, from the street corner to the settlement.
The Compendium is not generally intended as a guide on how
design relates to the detail of the planning and management
process. However, we address these issues in the new companion
publication ‘Urban Design Compendium 2: Delivering Quality
Places’.

The material within the Compendium reflects good practice both

in the UK and overseas, relying on the stream of new and
rediscovered approaches to urban design that emerged at the end
of the twentieth century. The regeneration movement has been at
the forefront of producing this new wave of thinking about how
design can position development in the market, change
perceptions of place and create value. There is also a strong body of
research to be drawn upon what constitutes urban quality.

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1 the fundamentals

The Compendium was developed following the work of the Urban

Task Force, which was established by the Government to consider
how we can use a projected 20% increase in the number of
households in England over the next 20 years as a basis for
regenerating our towns and cities. In its 1999 final report: Towards
an Urban Renaissance – the task force callled for
design-led regeneration. This led to wider support for improving
design quality, particularly through the planning process.

The Compendium was developed to complement the DETR/

Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment design
guide ‘By Design: Urban Design in the Planning System: Towards
better practice. This document was published to promote higher
standards in urban design and provide sound, practical advice to
help implement the Government’s commitment to good design, as
set out in Planning Policy Guidance Note 3: Housing (2000).

In the years since these documents were published there has been
increasing government commitment to the improvement of
design quality. Planning Policy Statement 1 (2005) clearly states
that ‘high quality and inclusive design should be the aim of all
those involved in the development process’.

Despite this growing understanding of the importance of good

urban design CABE’s housing audit have highlighted there are few
high quality schemes actually being delivered on the ground. This
edition of the Compendium is therefore accompanied by Urban
Greenwich Millennium Village is already demonstrating
new forms of city living Design Compendium 2: Delivering Quality Places, which provides
detailed guidance on how to overcome key barriers in the design
process which currently impede delivery of quality places.

Why the Homes and Communities Agency?

The Homes and Communities Agency has inherited a strong legacy
from both English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation in
leading the way on behalf of the public sector in promoting
innovation in the design and delivery of the projects they have been
involved in.

The Homes and Communities Agency strives to put the latest

thinking into practice in its projects and those of its partners. It has
pioneered new techniques such as Enquiry by Design and Design
Coding on its projects and promoted innovation through
competitions such as such as Design for Manufacture, Carbon
Challenge and the Public Land Initiatve. It was also the first body to
set compliance with Building for Life assessment criteria as a
standard requirement on all projects. This emphasis on design has
resulted in projects of exceptional design quality being delivered.

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1 the fundamentals

Good design is one of the key elements which help the Homes
and Communities Agency achieve their aim to invest in homes
that create sustainable environments. This means creating areas
that are desirable, healthy, safe and better places for people of all
ages to live and flourish. The Agency understands that good
design can create attractive sustainable communities for
residents and justify their sense of pride in their environment.

Over the past decade the Homes and Communities Agency and
its predecessors have used their Quality Standards and the
The Guinness Trust and Knightstone Housing
Association have combined in Frome, Somerset, competitive bidding process to improve standards and the
to create ‘The Piggeries’ – a mix of high density
housing that responds sensitively to local context
quality of design. In addition the Agency and the Local
Government Association agreed a national protocol which set
out how they would work together in ensuring that high quality
affordable housing is built and managed.

The bringing together of the Housing Corporation, English

Partnerships and significant parts of Communities and Local
Government into the Homes and Communities Agency has
provided a one-stop shop for local authorities and their partners.
With a substantial budget for housing and regeneration
activities the Agency has significantly greater critical mass than
any of the previous organisations acting on their own. Innovation
in design remains a fundamental tenet of the Homes and
Communities Agency in maximising the delivery of regeneration
and new homes.

Who should use the Compendium?

The Compendium was developed to guide policy development
and practical application in new development and regeneration
for the Homes and Communities Agency. It was also hoped to
have wider relevance so it would inform and assist all those
involved in new development and regeneration and contribute to
the improvement of housing-led regeneration projects and the
promotion of sustainable new development.

Since publication over 30,000 copies of the compendium have

been distributed worldwide and it has become a standard text for
those studying urban design. It is also being translated into
Korean and Serbian with interest from several other countries.

The principles in the Compendium remain constant and we hope

they continue to inform and assist those involved in creating and
delivering places.

For those requiring further guidance on the practical delivery of

quality places the Compendium should be read in conjunction
with ‘Urban Design Compendium 2: Delivering Quality Places’.

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1 the fundamentals 1.1 the importance of urban design

Urban design draws together the many strands of place-making -

environmental responsibility, social equity and economic viability, for
example - into the creation of places of beauty and distinct identity. Urban
design is derived from but transcends related matters such as planning
and transportation policy, architectural design, development economics,
landscape and engineering. It draws these and other strands together. In
summary, urban design is about creating a vision for an area and then
deploying the skills and resources to realise that vision.

Since the Second World War, this country has seen very extensive urban
development and renewal. While there are exceptions, a great deal of this
1
development has been third-rate and is lacking in any ‘sense of place’. At
worst, the results have been downright ugly and unpleasant. Fine urban
fabrics have been spoilt through the process of re-development. The
remarkable built heritage flowing from the English urban tradition has
yielded to banal and monotonous development, humdrum in design and
dominated by traffic. We have repeated standard housing types and layouts,
retail boxes and road layouts so many times, with little or no regard for local
context, until we find that now almost everywhere looks like everywhere else.

Unblocking the blockages

The development process, and the players within that process - central and
local government, politicians and professionals, developers, financiers
and builders – have become entangled in a system which produces
2 developments, but not places. We hope that this Compendium will fulfil a
useful role in redirecting efforts, to create a framework for development as a
contributor to the creation of quality places. There is a growing commitment
on the part of funding agencies, as well as planning law and guidance, to
underpin this effort to ensure that developments will not be considered
acceptable unless they address the issue of place and do it well. To make
quality places the norm rather than the exception means overcoming a
whole series of constraints, including :

• The compartmentalisation of professional disciplines - the traffic

engineer, chartered surveyor, architect, landscape architect,
planner - rather than adopting a multi-disciplinary approach.
• The lack of recognition of the legitimate role of the public sector to
3 promote high quality design through planning, site assembly,
procurement and investment.
• The predominantly conservative, short term and supply-driven
characteristics of the development industry - particularly the volume
housebuilders, who concentrate on the ‘house’ product rather than
the creation of a ‘place’, lifestyle or community.
• The property and financial industries’ preference for single use schemes
and buildings.
• A lack of innovation in development approaches in respect of
sustainable development, use of new technology, construction
efficiencies, and planning and design appropriate for the 21st century.

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1 the fundamentals 1.1 the importance of urban design

• Reactive planning and development control approaches and mind-sets,

applying quantitative standards (zoning, density, car parking, privacy
distances etc.) rather than providing qualitative advice and judgements .
• The lack of a reliable, robust and generally adopted series of guidelines
and procedures through which high quality design can be procured.

Everyone owns Design

Design is not just for designers and their acolytes. Urban design, like all
design, should involve a dialogue with the customer, whether the existing
people within an area or those likely to move in. It is a process that needs to
generate and draw upon consumer interest. The users hold the knowledge
5
of how an existing area works, its needs and possibilities. Collaborative
planning and design processes and a shared understanding of the issues
ensure attention to local concerns and reduce possible antagonism from
local communities to change.

Local communities can also have a role in implementing projects and

managing aftercare. Involvement and commitment can be harnessed on
these fronts through early involvement in the design process.

The commitment to dialogue extends, of course, to the professional

interests. Urban design is not the province of one professional group; it
should involve joint working between different stakeholders representing
different interests. This means that a full range of professional skills needs
to be involved at each stage of the design process, with the team members
6 testing and challenging each other, coming under continual scrutiny from
an informed client, and thus, through joint working, producing a single
cohesive product to which all are committed.

7
6
5
4
7

By analysing existing places and the complex relationships between

their constituent parts we can learn to recognise and create the qualities
of a rich and stimulating urban environment

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2 appreciating the context 2.1 community

The success or otherwise of a project is a product of understanding the

human as well as the physical geography. Above all, places must be
stimulating for people, and buildings and open spaces must be comfortable
and safe. This requires an appreciation of the dynamics of the local
community, including:
• local views and initiatives;
• local history and custom;
• the views of other stakeholder groups and individuals (such as
developers, landowners, utility organisations);
• organisational or institutional arrangements;
• the policy context.

Design is an essential tool for negotiating trade-offs between different

interest groups and securing mutually compatible solutions. The best way to
gain the necessary understanding of the above factors, and the potential
role of design in strengthening existing communities, is to adopt a public
participation strategy that involves a wide spectrum of local interest groups
and individuals.

Understand the social dynamics

Hosting an Action Planning Day during the initial phase
of the Brixham Harbour Regeneration Project ensured
A community-led review process will address a number of key questions.
design ideas were based on a thorough appreciation of What are the perceived problems? What is the local image of the place?
the views of local people Can the development complement this existing identity, or does it need
‘re-imaging’? What behavioural characteristics are distinguishable on the
site and its surrounds? Where are the main routes, popular uses and focuses
of activity? In order to answer these questions, it is essential to include local
people in the design and development process. It is also useful to delve into
local historical archives to understand how the place has evolved over time.

Table 2.1 provides an inventory of considerations for undertaking a review of

the existing community network and the policy context within which design
aspirations are to be taken forward. Section 6 provides references on public
participation in design.

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1 the fundamentals 1.2 key aspects of design

Set out below is a summary of some key aspects of urban design which run
throughout this Compendium. These have been developed with specific
reference to regeneration and development issues and provide a basis for
starting to think about a site or area - whether an empty brownfield or
greenfield site, or for the refurbishment of an existing urban area. As such
they differ in emphasis although not in broad policy direction, from design
principles or objectives published in other design documents.

Table 1.1 – Key Aspects of Urban Design

Places for People
For places to be well-used and well-loved, they must be safe, comfortable, varied and
attractive. They also need to be distinctive, and offer variety, choice and fun. Vibrant
places offer opportunities for meeting people, playing in the street and watching the
world go by.
Enrich the Existing
New development should enrich the qualities of existing urban places. This means
encouraging a distinctive response that arises from and complements its setting. This
applies at every scale - the region, the city, the town, the neigbourhood, and the street.
Make Connections
Places need to be easy to get to and be integrated physically and visually with their
surroundings. This requires attention to how to get around by foot, bicycle, public
transport and the car - and in that order.
Work with the Landscape
Places that strike a balance between the natural and man made environment and
utilise each site’s intrinsic resources - the climate, landform, landscape and ecology -
to maximise energy conservation and amenity.
Mix Uses and Forms
Stimulating, enjoyable and convenient places meet a variety of demands from the
widest possible range of users, amenities and social groups. They also weave together
different building forms, uses, tenures and densities.
Manage the Investment
For projects to be developable and well cared for they must be economically viable,
well managed and maintained. This means understanding the market considerations
of developers, ensuring long term commitment from the community and the local
authority, defining appropriate delivery mechanisms and seeing this as part of the
design process.
Design for Change
New development needs to be flexible enough to respond to future changes in use,
lifestyle and demography. This means designing for energy and resource efficiency;
creating flexibility in the use of property, public spaces and the service infrastructure
and introducing new approaches to transportation, traffic management and parking.

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1 the fundamentals 1.2 key aspects of design

The table below sets out how these key aspects of urban design relate to the
principles and objectives in key design documents

UDC1 By Design Princes Foundation Responsive PPS1

Key aspects of Principles of Design and Environments Principles of good design
urban design urban design theory principles

Places for people Quality of the public Make Places Robustness create an environment where
realm everyone can access and
benefit from the full range
Continuity and
of opportunities available to
Enclosure
members of society

Enrich the existing Character Build beautifully Visual appropriateness be integrated into the existing
urban form and the natural and
Richness
built environments

Make connections Ease of Movement Allow movement Permeability be integrated into the existing
logically and legibly urban form and the natural and
built environments

Legibility Legibility address the connections

between people and places by
considering the needs of people
to access jobs and key services

Work with the Design using natural consider the direct and indirect
landscape harmonics impacts on the natural
environment.

Mix uses and form Diversity Engender social Variety address the connections
interaction between people and places by
considering the needs of people
to access jobs and key services

Manage the Sustain land value

investment
Design for change Adaptability Personalisation create an environment where
everyone can access and
benefit from the full range
of opportunities available to
members of society

The following chapters interpret these principles for each stage of

project development.

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1 the fundamentals 1.3 how the compendium is organised

Appreciating the context The scope of the Compendium

How urban design thinking interprets and builds The Compendium has been designed to assist at three levels of project
upon historic character, natural resources and the
development :
aspirations of local communities, and arrives at a
realistic vision of what a place might become.
1 Commissioning and setting up development projects
Ensuring that this complex process is done in a way that ensures that design
Creating the urban structure is integrated throughout the evolution of a project. Therefore, at the very
Working out the inter-relationship between early stages of a project, the Compendium insists that urban design issues
development blocks, streets, buildings, open space,
are considered, whether in respect of the economic appraisal, the
landscape and all the other features that make
up urban areas. preparation of an environmental statement, the development of a
community participation strategy or other tasks.

Making the connections 2 Designing individual schemes

Achieving sustainable movement systems – the Within an overall development framework, the Compendium provides
roads, streets, footpaths, public transport routes,
advice that will be useful in designing individual development schemes,
green corridors, and systems for providing service
utilities, all of which improve urban life . from an entire block to an individual plot. For example, the guidance can be
used to help construct individual site development briefs.

Detailing the place 3 Evaluating project proposals in design terms

Considering the detail of buildings and the public From major area regeneration schemes or town extensions to small
realm, and the crucial interface between them - the
applications for gap funding, individual buildings or spaces, the
corner treatments, the roof-lines, the pavement,
the street lighting etc. Compendium can provide the evaluating team with the triggers it requires
to ensure a comprehensive assessment of a project’s design potential and it
can point funding bodies in the right direction. However it is not a substitute
Implementation and delivery for project specific specialist advice.
Managing the design process to ensure that a
commitment to quality continues beyond completion
The structure of the Compendium
of construction.
The Compendium follows the chronology of the project development
process (see left).
The Structure of the Compendium
At times important advice is repeated but we make no apology for this. For
example, issues that are crucial to making the right connections may also be
essential to the pattern of the overall structure. To help the reader in making
the right judgements as to what is relevant and what is not, and to assist the
many readers who will want to ‘dip into’ the Compendium, rather than read
it cover to cover, there are frequent cross-references.

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1 the fundamentals 1.3 how the compendium is organised

The value of guidance

Taken together, guidance contained within the Compendium relating to
both the ‘product’ and ‘process’ of urban design provides a comprehensive
overview. Yet this is not a tick-box exercise. A note of caution is required. In
design guidance, as in other fields, there is a sort of inverse utility rule; the
value of new measures diminishing as a function of time. The more they are
institutionalised, the less their utility. A classic case is the original Essex
Design Guide - a first class piece of work in its time - rapidly adopted by
planning departments and then by the development industry. This led to
permissions being won on a ‘deemed to comply’ basis, almost regardless of
the actual design quality. They learnt the tune but ignored the music!

For every piece of general guidance produced, there is an excellent place that
defies the guidance, or shows other ways of achieving high quality solutions.
Genius, or indeed serendipity, breaks the rules.

Important to the spirit of the Compendium is its encouragement of clients

and their designers to aspire to the creation of high quality places. Our
overall messages are that there is a need for everyone to contribute to a new
culture of high quality urban design and that there is no substitute for a
good design team.

How to use the Compendium

The Compendium has been constructed in such a way that it can be read as a
single coherent narrative, tracing the design of a project from first principles
to specific features, but at the same time it can be dipped into on a topic-by-
topic basis. There is no prescription in the Compendium but neither does it
shirk from giving quantitative advice where this is deemed helpful. Thus,
throughout the report, there are many rules-of-thumb and guideline values
that should be considered in drawing up design proposals.

Different parts of the Compendium will be relevant to different types of

project. In respect of significant area regeneration schemes, town
extensions or new settlements, most of the material contained in the
Compendium will be relevant. For smaller infill schemes, it will be a case of
extracting those items that are relevant in any given case. What is important
is that funding applicants do not sell themselves short. Even the simplest
infill scheme must, for example, have due respect for its site context and its
overall contribution to the neighbouring urban structure.

The Compendium contains a series of tables and checklists. These are

intended for practical use, to be employed in real project scenarios by project
promoters and evaluators, in testing the robustness of the design approach.
In the final chapter there is a particularly important flow diagram that
presents all the core elements of the urban design process. All significant
area regeneration projects should pass through each of these processes.
Smaller projects will need to employ some but not all of the stages.

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1 the fundamentals 1.3 how the compendium is organised

The Compendium also provides case studies to illustrate different

approaches and points of principle. Each case study has contact details so
that relevant projects can be followed up.

How does it fit with Urban Design Compendium 2: Delivering

Quality Places

If Urban Design is ‘the art of shaping the interaction between, people and
places, environment and urban form, nature and built fabric, and influencing
the processes which lead to successful villages, towns and cities’ (Campbell
and Cowan, 1999) this Compendium deals with the former aspects and the
second Compendium addresses the processes which lead to successful
villages, towns and cities. Urban Design Compendium 2: Delivering Quality
Places therefore builds on the principles of this Compendium to provide
guidance on how these principles can be effectively delivered in practice.

To do this the second Compendium considers the different processes that

impact on project delivery; policy, design, investment and development
economics, planning and technical approvals and governance, management
and maintenance. It provides guidance on what needs to be done at each
stage to ensure delivery of places which prove to be high quality in the long
term.

As with this document, the second compendium draws on the experiences

of those who have been involved in project delivery, from the Homes and
Communities Agency and beyond. It is hoped that this guidance on why
particular aspects of projects have been successful will provide an effective
resource for all those involved in delivering new developments and
regenerating existing areas.

The first edition of this Compendium noted that it was prepared against a
shifting and evolving backcloth. In the seven years since it was published
there have certainly been significant changes in public policy, technological
development and environmental thinking which have significant
implications for urban design. The second compendium looks to address
some of these in more detail, particularly with regard to environmental
issues and long term management of places.

UDC website – www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/udc

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1 the fundamentals 1.3 how the compendium is organised

The Compendium does not purport to be the final word on best practice in
urban design. Further information on urban design principles and case
studies can be obtained from organisations such as Commission for
Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), the British Urban
Regeneration Association, the Urban Design Group, the Civic Trust and the
Resource for Urban Design Information (RUDI) website (www.rudi.net).

As a best practice guide such as this derives its value from the projects
and partnerships it forms and stimulates. The Homes and Communities
Agency wants the Compendium to continue to be used but we also desire
feedback from the experience of its use. What needs to be changed? What is
missing? What should not be there? What is difficult to understand? What is
difficult to implement?

We will learn from this feedback and use it to develop both the web based
guidance and our other best practice documents. We will also look to
implement any suggestions for better, more effective ways of working in our
future projects.

urban design compendium 17