Ecobuild Seminar session 16.30 – 18.00 Sustainable urban form - compact city or garden suburb? The future health of our planet will be determined in our cities. Achieving urban sustainability appears to be an imperative with a short timescale for delivery. Given that sustainability needs to be a balance of social, environmental and economic factors, what are the current drivers for creating sustainable urban environments in our existing cities and what should be the drivers for creating sustainable urban environments? This seminar will explore the issues through a comparison of city forms. Developing City Visions - Professor Tim Dixon, Chair, Sustainable Futures in the Built Environment, University of Reading Urban metabolism - Dr Adriana Allen, Senior Lecturer, Development Planning Unit, UCL Compact cities: understanding the role of density - Dr Chris Boyko, Senior Research Fellow, University of Lancaster Garden suburbs? Appropriate solutions with case studies from the Sustainable Urban Neighborhood Network - Dr Nicholas Falk, Founder & Director, URBED

1. Garden cities, compact towns
or what?
Dr Nicholas Falk
www.urbed.coop

2. WHO AM I?
• An economist, strategic planner and urbanist - Founder Director of URBED
(Urban and Economic Development) in London 1976 set up to tackle urban
regeneration
• The co author of Sustainable Urban Neighbourhood: Building the 21st Century
Home (AP 2009)
• The leader of learning networks e.g. Sustainable Urban Neighbourhoods
Network, TEN Group which has just visited Paris.

3. WHERE AM I FROM?
I have lived in three distinctly different
neighbourhood models:
• Hampstead Garden Suburb (early C. 20th)
• Stroud, a Market Town (C. 18th)
• Kings Cross, Cromer Street (inter/post war)

4. TODAY I WILL...
• Explain why we need new housing models
• Draw lessons from recent experience
• Propose a smarter growth model

5. GROWTH COULD TAKE MANY FORMS
Most cities sprawl around transport links.
Ebenezer Howard’offered a compromise
which needs updat

6. THE SOCIAL CITY NEEDS UPDATING

7. WE NEED SOMETHING DIFFERENT

8. THE U.K PROVIDES SOME MODELS
GROWTH & REGENERATION AREAS

9. WE NEED TO ROLL THEM OUT!
1. Agree the Spatial Framework
2. Facilitate Public Private
Development Partnerships
3. Mobilize Undesignated Public
land
4. Attract Private Funding for
Infrastructure
5. Open up Housing Markets
6. Endow Community
Stewardship

10. 1. AGREE THE SPATIAL FRAMEWORK
Orchard Park, Cambridge
• Cambridge map
• Aerial of orchard park school
• housing

11. 2. FACILITATE DEVELOPMENT PARTERSHIPS
Ancoats, Manchester

12. 3. MOBILIZE UNDESIGNATED LAND
Ancoats & New Islington
Cambridge Graylingwell. Existing hospital buildings. Next to water Islington
Ancoats & New tower

13. 3. MOBILIZE UNDESIGNATED LAND
Lightmoor, Telford is the 2nd Bournville

14. 4. ATTRACT PRIVATE FUNDING
Upton, Northampton, an initiative by English Partnerships
Upton – Drainage bridge etc

15. 4. ATTRACT PRIVATE FUNDING
Derwenthorpe, York (JRHT)
Super Sustainable centre,
and energy efficient design

16. 5. OPEN UP HOUSING MARKETS
Ironstone, Telford
Smaller serviced sites (housing careers)
Management agreements Walker Riverside, Newcastle
Orchard Park, Cambridge
Add an ironstone information centre
Newhall picture
Newhall, Harlow

17. 6. ENDOW COMMUNITY STEWARDSHIP
Lightmoor, Telford; social as well as physical capital – community trusts
Lightmoor school

18. EUROPE OFFERS EVEN BETTER MODELS...

19. THE DUTCH ARE SHOWING THE WAY
Vinex is a Dutch Ten Year Housing Programme. This has similarities with the previous
government’s Sustainable Communities Plan however the Dutch have succeeded
between 1996 and 2005 in building some 90 new settlements,
which have increased their housing stock by 7.5%

20. DUTCH VINEX SETTLEMENTS
The Netherlands
increased their housing
stock by 7.6% 1996-
2005 (Half over 1500
units and one quarter
VINEX Plan over 5000)
Select priority
areas for growth
and regeneration
Link transport
and development
investment

21. HOUTEN, THE
HOUTEN; NL BUTTERFLY
Lack of public vehicle traffic
within the development i.e. walk
or cycle to bus stop

22. VATHORST, AMERSFOORT,
HOUTEN; THE BUTTERFLY NL
Shared Courtyards and patios over parking and
branding of neighbourhoods to appeal to
different tastes

23. ALMERE, NL
Self-build in Almere, NL
Home owners party

24. KEY four C’s are helping design in Cambridgeshire
The ELEMENTS OF SMARTER GROWTH
1. Community
2. Connectivity
3. Character
4. Climate
5. Collaboration

25. COMMUNITY
Schools as community hubs e.g. Houten, NL

26. COMMUNITY
Places for people of all ages e.g. Reiselfeld, Freiburg, Germany

27. CONNECTIVITY
Integrated Transport and short distances, e.g. Freiburg, Germany

28. CONNECTIVITY
– Stations at the heart
– Primacy for cycling
and walking
e.g. Houten, NL

29. CONNECTIVITY
Orestad New Town, Copenhagen

30. CHARACTER
Paris Rive Gauche, blocks are designed as open plots with landscape
running through

31. CHARACTER

32. CLIMATE
– Low carbon lifestyles
– Local renewables e.g. Freiburg

33. COLLABORATION
Development partnerships e.g. SEMAPA, Paris

34. COLLABORATION
Vathorst, Amersfoort; the local Authority is the driving force

35. COLLABORATION
German Building Groups (Baugruppen Architektur), Vauban

36. THE PRINCIPLES FOR SMARTER GROWTH
ARE CLEAR:
1. Focus on transport links and growth points
2. Recognise key opportunities and constraints
3. Rebalance city regions and neighbourhoods
4. Fund infrastructure through land values
5. Create ongoing partnerships

37. GREEN BELTS STOP SMARTER GROWTH

38. GREEN FINGERS MAY BE BETTER

39. WE NEED CONNECTED CITIES

40. SUSTAINABLE URBAN NEIGHBOURHOODS
SHOULD BE THE GOAL

41. WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Visit www.urbed.coop for the full SUNN report