URBAN UPDATE
24th July 2015
Main news
from the Urban Design Group
Jobs – Bournemouth, London, Gloucestershire, Bristol, Hertfordshire, Kent
Weather in the city – event report
Global food crisis by 2050?
Researchers quantify nature's role in human well-being
The rise of urban playgrounds for the elderly
A Community Right to Beauty?
A free service for all individuals and organisations who care about life in
cities towns and villages ………
planners – landscape architects – architects – conservation practitioners –
engineers –surveyors – masterplanners – managers – urban designers urbanists – health professionals - politicians – public
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http://www.udg.org.uk/udupdate/news/urban-update-24-July-2015
Forthcoming UDG Events The National Conference on Urban Design 2015
Bristol 8-9-10 October
“the most beautiful, interesting and distinguished city in England“
John Betjeman, 1961
Details available next week
Weather in the City - Event Report
How a better understanding of urban design, sunshine, heat, wind and humidity can
improve the quality of life in towns and cities
Weather in the City, written by Sanda Lenzholzer, is a very accessible introduction to how humans sense the
weather and the design measures that can be taken to improve our experience of urban areas.
Details of the book: http://www.naibooksellers.nl/urbanism/area-development/weather-in-the-city-how-design-shapes-the-urban-climate-sanda-lenzholzer.html
Sanda began her lecture by explaining how we perceive heat:
Urban Design Current Edition – Available to UDG
Members by Subscription
Urban Design Awards
– Developer Award
– Public Sector Award
Do you know any developers or
public bodies who you think
should enter the 2016 awards? –
if so – please let them know and
please encourage them to enter!
Full details of how to apply:

Direct from the sun –
short wave radiation –
(ultra-violet, visible light
and near infra-red)

Air temperature and
relative humidity

Wind

Re-radiated heat – long
wave radiation – from
warm buildings and
walls

Psychology can have an
effect with colour
influencing heat
perception
She then went on to list some of the things urban designers can do to change the local climate
 Lakes and ponds cool by day, but retain heat at night
 Moving water cools the air, still water stores heat.
 Parks cool the air through evapo-transpiration, and the effect is felt down-wind of the park too.
 Local wind effects - Where there is a dense urban centre surrounded by greenspace, the tall buildings
can act as chimneys’ heating air, which then rises, enabling air to be drawn from outside
 Valley winds can occur at night in otherwise still conditions and a knowledge of how these form can
inform the positioning of groups of buildings so as not to block the flow of fresh air.
 Coastal breezes are important in cooling a town or city. It is vital that their route is not blocked by a wall
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Developer Award
Deadline 21 August 2015
http://www.udg.org.uk/content/urban-designdeveloper-year-award-2016-opportunity-enter
Public Sector Award
Deadline - 21 August 2015
http://www.udg.org.uk/content/public-sector-award
Where do you read Urban
Design? Photo
competition
The Urban Design Group will award two prizes to
the best photographs taken during
this Summer and submitted before 5th September
2015. The idea is to show interesting or original
places in which members have read the journal.
The competition is open to individual UDG
members and the photograph (only one per
member) should be submitted as a jpg at 300dpi
for a minimum size of 190mm width, with your
name, and the location of the photograph . The
author of the best photograph, to be chosen by the
Editors, will be given a year's free subscription to
the journal; the runner-up will be sent a
recent book about urban design and invited to
review it for the journal. Both photographs will be
published in the journal and online on the UDG
website.
Deadline 5th September - email your entry to
Administration@udg.org.uk
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of buildings lining the sea front. Gaps should be left to allow the air to freely penetrate.
For seasonal shade, plant deciduous trees. Also think about the design of buildings, including
colonnades and over-hangs.
Don’t create a dense canopy of trees along heavily trafficked roads as this will reduce air circulation and
lead to a build-up of poor quality air at street level.
Street width to height ratios are important in influencing wind-speeds – as is surface roughness of the
buildings that front a street – including balconies and projections.
The discussion session highlighted the fact that, internationally, great attention is being paid to design and
weather. In Tokyo wind paths are being taken very seriously to enable fresh air from Tokyo bay to enter the
city. Hong Kong conversely has run into difficulties by allowing coastal development to block sea breezes.
Stuttgart was held as a good example, where there are long established large scale land-use controls that
keep the valley sides clear to maintain the free circulation of air in order to reduce the build-up of pollution.
And so the question comes to development in the UK: whether developments will be designed to make the
most of and take the sting out of the weather. Chris Brown of Igloo asked the question what it would take to
get clients in the UK interested in this area. What indeed!
Is there a high level of expertise being deployed in the creation of masterplans that optimises the urban
design to make the most of the form of the land, weather, sunshine, routes for walking and cycling, green
space, vistas and the most efficient use of the available land, or are layouts little better than random? The
average developer and the average planning department could be asking for a whole lot more.
Thanks go to Professor Michael Hebbert for making the event possible and for his superb chairing of the
discussion, and to Paula Cadima from the AA who has been doing much to advance education in the
subject
Two experiments to do at home or in the office
Why evapo-transpiration is so effective at absorbing heat: It takes 4 thousand joules to raise the
temperature of one litre of water by 1 degree centigrade, but over 2 million joules to evaporate it. That is
500 times the amount of heat energy, and this is why trees are such potent air coolers. Try it out for
yourself. Moisten your hand with water– you will be able to feel the cooling effect of the water until your hand
becomes dry. If it’s so obvious….why isn’t it standard practice?
An experiment in long wave radiation
You can do a practical demonstration of your own ability to emit long wavelength infra-red radiation: hold the
palms of your hands 5 centimetres in front of your face - you will be able to feel the warmth. Imagine then
the effect a wall heated by the sun will have on the comfort of people walking along a street.
Understanding long and short wave radiation is also the key to understanding the greenhouse effect, and
improving your photography.
Other events
Latest Lectures
on UrbanNous
The number of events is on the wane as we
approach the holiday period, but there are still
events to go to for those that seek them…
Urbanism: Improving quality and value
The importance of product, land and money
Yolande Barnes - Savills
Academy of Urbanism
Garden Cities Past and Present.
Potential morphologies explored.
Dominic Papa S333 Architecture and Urbanism
Event / Mid-Year Review and Reception
22nd July – London
http://www.academyofurbanism.org.uk/events/mid-year-review-and-reception/
Member only event
http://www.urbannous.org.uk/urbanism-quality-and-value.htm
http://www.urbannous.org.uk/garden-city-morphologies.htm
Garden Cities: Is there a Business Case?
Jim Coleman, Buro Happold
http://www.urbannous.org.uk/garden-city-economics.htm
BOBMK Events
http://bobmk.org.uk/our-programme/
Next events autumn
Health and Urban Design
Lucy Coleman, GLA, TFL
http://www.urbannous.org.uk/health-and-urban-design.htm
MADE
http://www.made.org.uk/events/calendar/
Museum of Walking
Mindfulness through movement
Saturday 22 August 2015 10.30am –
12.00pm Start: Brockwell Park, London SE14
(meet outside the Lido) £15
http://www.museumofwalking.org.uk/events/mindfulness-through-movement/
PTRC
https://www.ptrc-training.co.uk/Training/UpcomingCourses.aspx
An Introduction to Highway Design & Construction
The Principles of Traffic and Transport 20-Week
Evening Lecture Series, London and Bristol
Urban Design London
Events coming up – extensive programme some
free, some charged/£175+VAT (Free for
subscribers)
http://www.urbandesignlondon.com/?page_id=3251
UrbanNous Catalogue available on-line
Highlights include Christopher Alexander,
George Ferguson, Hans Monderman and
scores of others.
www.urbannous.org.uk
Jobs
Design and Conservation Team Leader (Post
10.099), Guildford Borough Council
Guildford
http://www.udg.org.uk/jobs/london-and-south-east/design-and-conservation-team-leader-post-10099guildford-borough-council
Urban Designer/Masterplanner - EDP
Gloucestershire
http://www.udg.org.uk/jobs/south-west/urban-designermasterplanner-edp
Urban Design Officers (x2) Royal Borough of
Kingston upon Thames
London
http://www.udg.org.uk/jobs/urban-design-officers-x2-royal-borough-kingston-upon-thames
Urban Designer / Master Planner – Terence
O’Rourke - Bournemouth
Bournemouth
PROJECT OF THE WEEK
Bournemouth at Night
Feria Urbanism
A vision for what the town could be and should be
after dark based on extensive involvement of local
businesses, community and creative talents.
http://www.udg.org.uk/jobs/urban-designer-master-planner-%E2%80%93-terence-o%E2%80%99rourkebournemouth
Design South East / Kent Design
http://www.kentdesign.org/events/
Event Calendar
http://www.kentdesign.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Event-Calendar-2015-16-edited-14.4.15.pdf
Senior Urban Designer - Cambridge City
Council
Cambridge
http://www.udg.org.uk/jobs/east-anglia/senior-urban-designer-cambridge-city-council
Architecture and Design Scotland
http://www.ads.org.uk/events
Planner/Urban Designer - JB Planning
Associates - Hertfordshire
Stevenage, Hertfordshire
http://www.udg.org.uk/jobs/london-and-south-east/plannerurban-designer-jb-planning-associateshertfordshire
Urban Designer/Senior Urban Designer Pegasus Group - Bristol
Equinox North, Great Park Road, Almondsbury,
Bristol
http://www.udg.org.uk/jobs/south-west/urban-designersenior-urban-designer-pegasus-group-bristol
“We wanted to encourage decision-makers in the town
to stop thinking about the evening and night time as
being a source of trouble and instead consider it as a
source of delight; providing a positive cultural offer,
supporting the visitor economy and attracting
investment.”
Read more
http://www.urbandesigndirectory.com/projects/bournemouth-night
Rights for cats and dogs voted in Spanish Town
Council
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/human-rights-for-cats-and-dogs-spanish-town-council-votesoverwhelmingly-in-favour-of-defining-pets-as-nonhuman-residents-10408546.html
Urban Design around the World
Latest Research, Policy and
Practice
Australia
Aged care design showing signs of ‘falling behind’
http://www.australianageingagenda.com.au/2015/07/22/aged-care-design-showing-signs-of-falling-behind/
Environment
Economic slump, not natural gas boom, responsible for drop in CO2
emissions
http://phys.org/news/2015-07-economic-slump-natural-gas-boom.html
Canada
These Cities Are Learning From Each Other to Become More Sustainable
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/david-dodge/cities-becoming-more-sustainable_b_7851224.html
India
4 of 10 below-five year olds stunted in urban India;
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-4-of-10-below-five-stunted-in-urban-india-half-of-homeless-children-sexually-abused-2105634
Warming slow-down not the end of climate change, study shows
http://phys.org/news/2015-07-slow-down-climate.html
Former Top NASA Scientist Predicts Catastrophic Rise In Sea Levels –
10ft over the next 50 years
World leaders have committed to limit global average temperature rises to 2
degrees centigrade. However geological evidence points to a time when
temperatures were just 1 degree higher, and sea levels were 16 to 30 feet
higher than today, and the globe was subject to extreme storms.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/james-hansen-sea-level-rise_55aecb02e4b0a9b94852e7f5
Societies will collapse amid food shortages if world remains on current
course, says study
Netherlands
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/societies-will-collapsing-starve-if-world-keeps-current-course-say-scientists-1508333
Miami takes a page from Dutch urban design with slow roads
http://www.nltimes.nl/2015/07/22/miami-takes-a-page-from-dutch-urban-design-with-slow-roads/
Humans Health Society
Access to all forms of transport is a lifelong health strategy
http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/second-opinion-access-to-all-forms-of-transport-is-a-lifelong-health-strategy-1.2284402
UK
Cycle lanes, wider pavements and better crossings - plans for new walkway
around Bournemouth unveiled
http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/districts/bournemouth/13487378.Garden_Walk_plan_would_change_how_people_and_traffic_move_around_Bournemouth/
Researchers quantify nature's role in human well-being
http://csis.msu.edu/news/quantify-nature%E2%80%99s-role-human-well-being
Having wealthy neighbours may skew beliefs about overall wealth
distribution
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150722080646.htm
USA
Making the Grade: Cuba trips teach historic preservation
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/making-the-grade-cuba-trips-teach-historic-preserv/nm4FS/
When and How Should the Public Participate in Design? The Commons
Conundrum
http://www.thelinemedia.com/features/thecommons07212015.aspx
Res Publica proposes “A Community Right to Beauty: Giving
communities the power to shape, enhance and create beautiful places,
buildings and spaces”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33628747
http://www.respublica.org.uk/our-work/publications/a-community-right-to-beauty-giving-communities-the-power-to-shape-enhance-and-create-beautiful-placesdevelopments-and-spaces/
Do Taller Buildings Have to Mean Darker Streets?
https://nextcity.org/features/view/new-york-design-building-code-highrise-shadows-sunlight
Urban Design Matters, U's Downtown Study Shows
http://kuer.org/post/urban-design-matters-us-downtown-study-shows
Built Environment
The rise of urban playgrounds for the elderly
http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/jul/20/rise-urban-playgrounds-elderly
An Artist's Series Exposes The Sneaky Classism Of Architectural
Renderings
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3048867/an-artists-series-exposes-the-sneaky-classism-of-architectural-renderings
Politics Philosophy Economics
Self-proclaimed experts more vulnerable to the illusion of knowledge
http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/self-proclaimed-experts-more-vulnerable-to-the-illusion-of-knowledge.html
Renting to overtake home ownership for young – forecasts by PwC
 5 per cent per annum increase in house prices
 Homes owned outright – forecast to increase from 8.4 million now to 10.6
million by 2025, accounting for 35%
 Freehold homes to fall from 70% in the middle of the last decade to about
60% in 2025.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33621047
Given that some of these figures are predicated on the performance of the
overall economy, including the global economy, they do need to be treated
with caution.
House prices in Britain's 20 biggest cities expected to be rising by 10%
at end of year driven by high demand, low supply – says Hometrack.
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-3173133/House-prices-Britain-s-20-biggest-cities-expected-rising-10-end-year-fuelled-highdemand-low-supply.html
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