Without the state

Using urban history

On wednesday I attended a presentation by Chris Miele of consultants RPS on Heritage and Regeneration - the idea that conserving our historic areas and buildings is worth doing for economic benefits as well as for its own sake. Making this work however, needs a good basis on which to build and Chris Miele's presentation was about a technique called 'Characterisation'. You can find out more at this site which covers a project in Cornwall, although the presentation dealt with Gloucester and Shoreditch. So far I haven't been able to track down web links for those.

The Cornwall & Scilly Urban Survey is providing a framework for sustainable regeneration in 19 historic towns. The project integrates two key factors - improved understanding and characterisation of the rich and diverse historic environment which makes Cornwall and Scilly’s towns so distinctive and the identification of heritage-led regeneration opportunities so vital to the region’s future

This approach is by no means new, as Chris acknowledged. He cited the work of Patrick Geddes (and here), Camillo Sitte, and Parker and Unwin in the British new towns of Welwyn and Letchworth, as well as Gordon Cullen and Thomas Sharp.

What seems to be new(ish) is the way in which this historical analysis is being put in a wider spatial context as a key part of the regeneration process. The Cornish study I referred to earlier was used by the SW Regional Development Agency in support of work on Objective 1 funding. In Gloucester a similar study was used to underpin the work to establish a new Urban Regeneration Company, while in Shoreditch it was intended to guide the response of the local council (Hackney) the pressures for development overspilling from the City of London.

Timing seems to be critical - the Gloucester study slotted nicely into the process of setting up the URC, but in Shoreditch it may have been too late with a great deal of investment in land and sites already having taken place on the backs of expectations which the study may not have supported.

I'm hoping to get hold of copies of some of these studies, since it looks to me as if at least some of the work could be carried out by community groups. After all Village Design Statements, which are yet another approach to characterisation, have been developed by local groups for some time. Indeed if funding isn't available, the DIY approach may well be the only way forward. Many local communities will have within them people well versed in local history who know their way around the archives for example.

It would be fun too to see the results of this historic mapping tagged to the area through something like the Urban Tapestries project. Even better would be a set of VR glasses like those at the heart of William Gibson's novel Virtual Light!

"If you live in a city, you don't need to own a car."

"If you live in a city, you don't need to own a car."

William Clay Ford Jr., CEO, Ford Motor Company Ltd. October 2000

The joy of corrugated iron

The Corrugated Iron Club is a site for enthusiasts of this much underrated building material.

It may be thought that sheets of galvanised corrugated iron would make for standardised buildings. Far from it. The material has not had a homogenising influence mainly because it lends itself to small scale, self-build enterprises which reflect a precise functional response to need. The result is simplicity, functionally dictated and locally tempered, and sometimes idiosyncrasy plays a part.

One of my photographs is found here (and also in the Wiltshire album on this blog.)

There is also this site devoted entirely to Tin Tabernacles, the corrugated iron churches and mission halls built economically and quickly to service the needs of small groups of worshippers from about the 1870s onwards.

Crime Prevention and Planning

Back in January, David Sucher posted on City Comforts an item about what we can charitably describe as the less rigorous studies of this issue. Since then there has been discussion on Crooked Timber and no doubt other sites.

Rather belatedly I'm linking to an ODPM guide (link is to a summary) on the same topic. I haven't had the time to read it yet, but with luck it avoids some of the more sensationalist claims being put about

Nonsense on Stilts

According to the Adam Smith Institute it is both legal and common in the UK to bribe planning authorities. I'm obviously persona non grata over there, because my comments are no longer being accepted. So once again, because in the name of liberty thtey are seeking to limit debate to the people who agree with them here is my comment on this.

"You know of course that this is total nonsense"

I can't guarantee that is exactly the same as my original comment but close enough. The last time this happened the trackback was deleted too - lets see what happens this time.

I assume that this is some tabloid style attempt to attack the idea of developer contributions to infrastructure - or perhaps the fee to make a planning application - it isn't clear.

Birmingham Bull Ring

I didn't expect to like the new Selfridges store in the Bull Ring, but at least from this angle it works.

Samuel Mockbee

This post about Samuel Mockbee seems to confirm the impression I gained of this man. There is a book about him in the 'Making Places' typlist that I heartily recommend. A true genius.

Reconstruction of Dublin

I found this site tracking back another item in the referrer log. It describes the various major projects under way in Dublin. I found it a little over-designed but it is still well worth a look.

The Neighborhood Pace Car

From the man who invented the Walking Bus, new comes the Neighbourhood Pace Car:

Residents with a traffic problem in their street are encouraged to sign the Pace Car Pledge. They promise to drive within the speed limit, stop to let pedestrians cross and minimize their car use. They put a Pace Car sticker on the back of their car so that the motorists behind know why they are driving courteously. When there are sufficient Pace Cars on the street, traffic is calmed citywide. Pace Cars are ‘mobile speed bumps’ that get out of the way of emergency vehicles.

The Pace Car is a very important part of an overall strategy to make streets safer and to increase the vitality of neighborhood life. It calms drivers rather than streets and thus reduces the propensity for drivers to take risk. (The Pace Car sticker is an essential element as it informs the drivers behind why the car is being driven within the law. This reduces the chances of them becoming agitated and is part of an awareness raising process.) The Pace Car helps create an environment where adults and children are more likely to walk or use their street for play and socializing.

Imagination and the built environment

I often introduce myself as a planner, 'but I'm alright now' - an attempt to defuse the hostility that planning is so often subject to. It is often (not always - I'll come to that) unjustified. We have to recognise for a start, that something like 70-80% of what happens in the built environment is not designed - by anyone and no planner, architect or urban designer has seen it or had any say. It isn't surprising therefore that so much of our surroundings are simply crap - crap for which the 'planner' is a convenient scapegoat.

Even so, planners do get things wrong - especially at the detailed level - usually I believe because of a failure of imagination or perhaps nerve. Which is why I think this is an example of reasonably good planning at the level of detailed design. The photograph at the left shows a pleasant terrace of historic buildings in Bristol. I could have done without the bright purple shutters, but even so the building has character and style. The photograph at the right is of the rear of the building, which is where the good planning comes in. I say it is good planning because it demonstrates quite clearly that the development control process can produce reasonable quality if planners and designers recognise their roles. Clearly someone has wanted to extend the building and fit in new stairs and a link to the lower level extension. The designer has chosen a modern design. It would have been easy for the planner dealing with the application to ask for a traditional design, but somebody had the sense not to and so we have this rather nice tower.

It isn't the Taj Mahal or Blenheim Palace - but then nor are most buildings. I'm sure too there are many ways in which it could be improved but even so it works. The building remains exactly what it started as - pleasant and human in scale - but now it which has been brought up to modern standards and makes a pleasant contribution to the street scene. A victory all round I think.