Urban update

New Zealand

“Distinctive high quality urban design is provided for, including a 'green network' to create an attractive urban environment.” The photo accompanying this article is of something that looks like a cross between a motorway service area and a 1980s style retail park.

http://truecommercial.nzherald.co.nz/insights/news/property-articles/albany-hits-its-stride-at-last/?ref=NZHNetwork
Where is our collective imagination?

An appeal for the improvement of towns and cities and well as private property

http://architecturenow.co.nz/articles/where-is-our-collective-imagination/

UK

Signatories include Sir Terry Farrell

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/housing-crisis-is-a-threat-to-londons-industry-business-leaders-warn-a3219171.html
Fifty Thousand Homes Campaign Launched by London First

http://fiftythousandhomes.london/

http://www.standard.co.uk/business/business-news/housebuilding-slump-sees-growth-hit-threeyear-low-a3217511.html

http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/east_bergholt_villagers_explain_why_preserving_constable_country_means_so_much_to_them_1_4481175It

Unfortunately, while the planning system has succeeded in protecting conservation areas, the settings have often been damaged, with many villages already surrounded by poor quality 1960s and 70s suburban style development. The problem has been that clone style development has been allowed arbitrarily on the radial routes in and out of villages, so communities with buildings 400 or 500 years old have feel as though they are in a housing estate. To prevent this, development on the radial routes should be restricted, and screened development concentrated in the fields between the routes.
Urban Design Framework to combat Tunbridge Wells Town centre woes

The Morrisons store in Tunbridge Wells as closed, creating a second redundant site following the closure of the town centre cinema and associated shops.

https://www.timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk/not-again-supermarket-shut-down-adds-to-town-centre-eyesore-woes/

In recent years, an industrial estate 2 miles outside of the town centre has morphed into a retail park with multiplex cinema, posing a threat to other towns in the area. The site is next to the A21 trunk road, which is currently being rebuilt to near motorway standard. Highway works linking the trunk road to the estate have been criticised for failing to provide for cyclists or pedestrians, with the spine road having a 40mph speed limit. It is hoped that the new Urban Design Framework will give Tunbridge Wells the long-term structure that it so desperately needs. A framework is needed at a strategic county level, but has been clearly lacking.

http://www.hortweek.com/hope-green-infrastructure-devolution/landscape/article/1389101

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/07/see-inside-the-secret-victorian-station-left-abandoned-in-london/

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/510525/2904569_NIDP_2016-2021_updated.pdf

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/mar/18/pop-up-village-in-south-east-london-to-house-homeless-families

USA

http://downtowndevil.com/2016/04/04/78911/phoenix-urban-design-week-roosevelt-row-potluck/

Politics, Philosophy, Economics

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/our-working-hours-are-longer-than-ever-and-our-productivity-is-dismally-low-why-i-have-a-theory-a6956796.html

http://www.hakaimagazine.com/article-long/how-ancient-romes-1-hijacked-beach

Humans, Health, Society

Uncertainty causes stress, according to this research by UCL, which emphasises of the importance reducing uncertainly in society. It gives the example of real-time information boards at bus stops, which reduce the stress-inducing uncertainty of not knowing when or whether the bus will arrive.

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0316/290316-uncertainty-stress#sthash.f1E53Wep.dpuf
Planning for Wellbeing - Rhiannon Corcoran and Graham Marshall

Free to download paper

http://www.urbandesignmentalhealth.com/journal1-planning4wellbeing.html
Charities call for urgent action over homeless children in the UK

Over 100,000 children currently live in temporary accommodation

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/charities-call-for-urgent-action-to-prevent-death-of-more-homeless-children-a6966601.html

Movement

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/european-express-train-offers-fourth-class-tickets-just-dont-expect-a-seat-a6957376.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35807472

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/waterloo-corduroy-road-found-king-street-lrt-construction-1.3502375

A reminder that even in the new world – road and street alignments are often the oldest thing in the built environment.
Traffic Signals: An introduction to signalised junctions and crossing facilities in the UK”,

This new book charts the history of the technology from their first introduction worldwide, at Bridge Street, Westminster in 1868.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Introduction-Traffic-Signals-introduction-signalised/dp/1523489936
Traffic signals specialist questions the idea of turning off traffic lights to improve traffic flows

http://smarthighways.net/signals-expert-questions-traffic-light-switch-off-idea/

Mark Pleydell argues that “Five minutes of casual observation by an MP do not constitute rigorous insight.”   And he is absolutely right in this, but he goes on to argue…“ do you really think that this and all previous governments would have invested the huge amounts of taxpayer money into developing and researching our transport network, the equipment, and systems if there wasn’t good evidence that these systems improved journey times and journey reliability, helped improve public transport, allowed people to use their own private vehicles to live an independent mobile lifestyle?” Yes, we do really think that. Much of the practice in highways, (and not to mention planning and urban design) has developed in the absence of robust evidence, but on the basis of specialist opinion and political whim. The long tradition of highway design has paid little attention to psychology and perception. Only in recent years has the notion of “risk compensation” - the idea that people adjust their behaviour according to how risky they perceive a situation to be – been incorporated into some areas of Government guidance.
The proponents for traffic light free junctions argue that signals is that they give road users a false sense of security: green means go, green means safe to go, while the reality is that people make mistakes, and some people wilfully disregard signals. They consider that signals are also part of a traffic movement concept that removes the requirement on road users to read the road. There is a need for a robust comparative study of signalled and signal free approaches that would look not only of accident data, speeds, and impact on traffic flow, but also on the impact on encouraging or discouraging walking and cycling. Such a study requires a large sample, and should be the primary responsibility of government to undertake.