Press archive 2016
Time + Place
How the School of Planning picked up where the Farrell Review left off, helping to create and nurture the Place Alliance into a leading voice on best practice in urban design. Read more →
Safeguarding Quality via Permission in Principle
Matthew Carmona outlines a way of improving this broad-brush approach to planning approvals. He argues, that it may be possible to combine the designation of PiP with the production of a simple Coordinating Code for each allocated site. Read the full article in
UCL Campaign wins RTPI Sir Peter Hall Award
The winners of the 2016 RTPI Awards for Research Excellence have been announced at a ceremony at the UK-Ireland Planning Conference in Cardiff. A national movement campaigning for high-quality places brought together by the University College London has won the Sir Peter Hall Award for Wider Engagement. Read more →
The art of bouncing
The British local authorities have always had a penchant for thoughtful architectural projects. But at a time of austerity measures, it is impossible to live without counting, and the Commission for Architecture and Built Environment (CABE) has paid the price. How to maintain a certain quality level when subsidies spin in the English way? Leslie Doumerc for the Parution d’Esquisses 2016, the magazine by the Order of Architects of Quebec.
Below you can find the abstract from the article:
Placemaking
To build on this collaborative vision, the Farrell report advocates a forum that brings together stakeholders in the field who are able to put pressure on high-level politicians. Thus, twice a year, the Big Meets arouse the interest of a hundred people or organizations that strive to prove that the architectural quality has positive impacts in the short and long term and deserves to be supported.
From these gatherings was born the Place Alliance, a rather informal and horizontal movement, based on voluntary engagement. Supported financially by private donations, universities or professional institutes, the collective has no connection with the government. Ultimately, however, the final step would be to establish a new independent council whose status in relation to the National Government would be similar to that of the BBC, the Bank of England, the British Council or even British universities.
In the two years of its existence, Place Alliance has already sent a series of recommendations to the House of Lords committee working on a national built environment policy, produced a manifesto, and compiled a guide presenting exemplary architectural achievements.
According to Prof Matthew Carmona, four years after the end of the CABE, England still benefits from the positive effects of the colossal work done. “It’s not a reason to release the pressure. We will not try to reinvent the past, but take this opportunity to step back, inspire success and avoid mistakes. The mission remains the same, reinforce day by day the importance of good architectural quality, a principle with which everyone agrees, but which everyone forgets very quickly as soon as the economic aspect comes into play.”
You can read the full article in french here →
RTPI and other professional bodies have written to the communities secretary urging him to accept key recommendations made in a House of Lords Report.
The RTPI has joined a number of key built environment organisations – including the Academy of Urbanism, Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation, Design Council-CABE, Institute of Historic Buildings Conservation, Landscape Institute, Royal Institute of British Architects, UrbanDesign Group, and the Place Alliance – to urge Greg Clark to implement a number of recommendations made by the House of Lords Select Committee on National Policy for the built environment. Read the full article by Michael Donnelly →
Permission in Principle, but not without principles
Matthew Carmona in his blog discusses the matter of Permission in Principle, that has been introduced in the Housing and Planning Bill 2016. Read the full article here →
Place Alliance leads UCL success at RTPI Awards for Research Excellence
The Place Alliance, a national movement brought together by UCL to campaign for high quality places has won the Sir Peter Hall Award for Wider Engagement at the RTPI Awards for Research Excellence 2016. Read more →
Read more“Winning the RTPI 2016 Sir Peter Hall Award for Wider Engagement represented a great honour and significant achievement for all those that have been involved in the development of the Place Alliance. It has given us even greater confidence to continue with our work making the case for place quality and has encouraged many others to become involved” Prof Matthew Carmona, Chair, Place Alliance
UCL’s national movement for high quality in place design wins national research award
A national movement campaigning for high quality places brought together by the University College London has won the Sir Peter Hall Award for Wider Engagement in year 2016 RTPI Awards for Research Excellence. Read more →
Interview with Matthew Carmona: In search of Harmony
From protecting public rights in private spaces to ensuring ‘permission in principle’ preserves local character, Matthew Carmona is determined to reconcile public interest and private gain in well-designed places and spaces, finds David Blackman. Read more →
The Place Alliance Big Midlands Meet
The Place Alliance Big Midlands Meet was an excellent platform to discuss the future of regional planning and urban design: from housing pressures to creation of places with a sense of identity. Read more →