The public open space outside the Mother of Parliaments should be re-designed as a place for MPs to talk to constituents and demonstrators. It was filled with protesters on 15th January 2019. This was the day on which the first…
Blog Archives
Posts on Urban Design (+ see introduction to urban design)
Parliament Square in Westminster should be re-designed
Posted in landscape architecture, urban design
London Cycle Action Plan TfL: a review
The Guardian is too kind when it says the London Cycle Action Plan is ‘bold but has a major flaw’. It has many major flaws. But before looking at them let’s note the document’s good points: It acknowledges that London’s…
Four step model for bicycle network infrastructure planning
Traditional four step models provide a rational framework for transport forecasting (see Wiki). The 4 steps are trip generation, trip distribution, mode choice and route assignment. It is a predictive model and was often used to ‘predict and provide‘…
Posted in cycleways, urban design
How to integrate cycling with urban design: Copenhagenize
Copenhagenize: The Definitive Guide to Global Bicycle Urbanism by Mikael Colville-Andersen, Island Press, 2018, review by Tom Turner The great strength of this book is its focus on bicycle planning being an aspect of urban design. Illustrations support this point: the…
Planning a Mass Rapid Transit Cycle Network
The points in this post are illustrated in a short eBook on planning a Mass rapid transit cycleway network for London. It is available for free download at medium resolution (please contact us if you would like a high-res copy).…
Posted in cycleways, urban design
Bicycle network planning and design: in Edinburgh, Cambridge and London
Bicycle network planning should be based on: the principles of transport planning the principles of landscape urbanism This is because The full functionality of cycle ways, paths, lanes, routes etc is realised only when they form part of a well-planned…
Objecting to Convoys Wharf Planning Application – Plot 08 Reserved Matters
Plot 08 at Convoys Wharf has received outline planning permission and an application has been submitted for full permission. The current application deals with ‘reserved matters‘, which normally include the five points listed below. Objectors should address these issues rather…
Posted in skyline policy, urban design
Convoys Wharf planning application for Plot 08
In 2011, I reviewed the Hutchison Whampoa Master Plan for Convoys wharf. A modified version of the plan, scarcely improved, received planning permission in 2014 and an application for the first phase has now been submitted. My reasons for urging Lewisham…
Edward Hutchison watercolours
Following his brilliant book on Drawing for Landscape Architecture: Sketch to Screen to Site, Edward Hutchison has opened an even more dazzling exhibition of watercolour painting – at Bankside Gallery 48 Hopton Street London SE1 9JH, by Tate Modern Exhibition 4th –…
Posted in skyline policy, urban design
Desire lines are a key principle in landscape architecture
‘Desire line’ is one of landscape architecture’s most useful concepts. Less romantically, Wikipedia calls it a ‘desire path’ and explains the idea as ‘ the shortest or most easily navigated route between an origin and destination’. OK, but as everyone…
Posted in urban design
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