Place Making

Category Background

To ensure that the most sustainable sites are used for development and that the design process, layout structure and form provide a development that is appropriate to the local context and supports a sustainable community.

Making places safe and vibrant, with a unique identity and community spirit. Well-designed developments encourage interaction, encourage sustainable living and have sympathy for locality. Place making is putting the community’s needs at the heart of the design.

‘Well-designed places and buildings, and the provision of a variety and mixture of different house types to accommodate the requirements of local people, are good for people’s well-being and contribute to sustainable economic and social development.’ RSS, Creating Sustainable High Quality living and Working Environments: 3.7.3

When considering locations for new developments it is resource efficient to use brownfield, contaminated or undeveloped land in an urban location. The Environment Agency says reusing land ‘can encourage more sustainable lifestyles by providing an opportunity to recycle land, clean up contaminated sites, and assist environmental, social and economic regeneration. It also reduces pressure to build on greenfield land and helps protect the countryside’ The Environment Agency: Brownfield Land Redevelopment: Position Statement

Yet sustainable development is more than re-using land. When a development is complete, sustainability becomes the community’s responsibility, so it is important to consider ways of encouraging community interaction early on in the design stage.

Creating an atmosphere of connectivity with meeting areas, vibrant settings and even local art-work, inspires interaction and creates identity, leading to collective action.

It is essential for developments to be visually attractive, but it is equally important to integrate the character of the locality in the design for easy navigation and a continuation of identity. Historic sites ground an area and community’s identity, so their preservation is also vital.

At the bare bones of designing a new development are issues of health, safety, affordability and crime prevention, all fundamental to a community’s needs. Providing cycle paths, safe pedestrian crossings and secure places to keep bikes are some positive steps towards encouraging sustainable communities. Street and security lighting also provides safety, though light pollution should be minimised at every opportunity. Having affordable homes is just one part of welcoming new inhabitants to a new development.

This section of the Checklist will address:

  • Effective and efficient use of land
  • Approaches to design, context, landscape and connectivity.
  • Re-use of suitable buildings
  • Focus on the pedestrian, safety and navigability
  • Local character
  • Access to green space and play space
  • Affordable housing
  • Lighting strategy

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