Urban space is a critical realm for national productivity. It is where 89% of us work, where 90% of us live and where 91% of national output is generated and yet — according to one survey — where only 20% of us are content with our lot.
Rethinking urban design
The conference was held at Dynamic Earth, Ediburgh
We need to be able to make urban space work, to accommodate us and help us lead comfortable, convenient and productive lives.
Cities offer all sorts of sustainability economies of scale but this will only begin to pay dividends when the congestion issues can be addressed. And relieving congestion is largely a matter of urban design and behaviour.
Couple these issues with the problems of mounting levels domestic and construction waste, the logistics of goods and people and the role of the planning process itself, and it’s easy to see why it’s time to Rethink Urban Design.
A One Day Conference hosted by SISTech and Edge Debate and supported by the ICE, RIBA, CIBSE, RIAS, IStructE and UDAL.
Programme of speakers:
Paul Jowitt - Rethinking Urban Design: Introduction
Mark Whitby - The Case for Urban Design
Sarah Boyack - Interfaces between political decision making, professionals and people
Hildebrand Frey - Meta Cities
Mike Galloway - What we have to do differently
George Paschke - Sustainable Construction
Murray Woodburn - What’s Planning got to do with it?
Herbert Girardet - The Metabolism of Sustainable Cities
Howard Liddell - Forward to the Past
Brian Edwards - Global responsibilities and urban design
Robin Nicholson - What’s going on?