Good, clear report and advocacy document by Living Streets on behalf of the People and Places Coalition.

Stephen

http://www.livingstreets.org.uk/councils-must-acknowledge-community-voice-says-living-streets

Councils must acknowledge community voice, says Living Streets

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Giving…

Spring Green 2013: Wednesday 24 April to Sunday 28 July 2013

"Ambition should not be measured by size or cost but by the benefit it brings to the lives of every citizen. I hope this exhibition sparks many more projects that help define Bristol as the city of…

Ask an Architect: Monthly Saturday Surgeries

Bookable 30 minute slots between 12.00 and 16.30, one Saturday each month

£10 voluntary donation to the Architecture Centre. Booking in advance required: 0117 922 1540

The Architecture Centre is pleased to be teaming up with the Bristol Society of Architects (BSA) and the local branch of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) to offer monthly Saturday advice surgeries with a local RIBA registered…

Urban Wanderings: Guided walks in May to July 2013

Tickets cost £6/£4. Walks last up to an hour and a half. Meeting place given at time of booking: 0117 922 1540.

Urban Wanderings: Ambitious City

A series of guided walks exploring Bristol’s historic and future ambitions through buildings and places. Walks led by architecture and urban design expert Alastair Brook unless otherwise specified. Walks last up to an hour and a half. Starting…

A developer plans to build 150 homes in the UK using the Passivhaus approach, which was first developed in Germany during the 1990s. If successful this could lead to a wider roll-out of the technique as the firm responsible is considering opening a UK factory capable of producing 500 sustainable homes a year.  

(article below from www.planningresource.co.uk)

A planning application has been lodged for what its designers claim…

Interesting, thought provoking article in the Guardian Magazine a couple of weeks ago about living in some new urban developments - Cambourne, near Cambridge (3,400 homes), Fairford Leys, near Aylesbury (1,900 homes) and Poundbury in Dorset (1,100 homes) - http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/apr/06/new-build-britain-john-harris-housing

Are they better than Bourneville, Port Sunlight,…

"One in ten of all journeys should be by bike" - http://allpartycycling.org/news/

A landmark report on the future of cycling in Britain calls for a national cycling champion to lead a drive for 10 per cent of all journeys in Britain to be by bike by 2025.

More of the transport budget should be spent on supporting cycling, at an…

A 17 year study led by the University of Exeter has shown that parks, gardens and green space in urban areas can improve the wellbeing and quality of life of people living there.  Those in the study were followed as the moved around the UK and found an increase in wellbeing when compared with other life changing events such as employment, health, marital status and income.

"These kinds of comparisons are important for policymakers when trying to decide how to…

Following the community mapping Our Place activities in St Pauls in March we have produced an initial Our Place St Pauls document available here as a pdf. …

More info below and at http://www.oldmarketquarter.co.uk or…

• Fee…

Formal consultation on the Bristol Local Plan development management policies and site allocations takes place from Friday 22 March 2013 through to Friday 10 May 2013 (see notice below). Representations on the soundness of the polices and the allocations will be considered by an independent inspector at examination, probably in autumn 2013.

Stephen…

Terry Farrell is conducting the first review into the built environment since the Urban Task Force in 2000. What should he be looking at? 

Definitely something to keep an eye on....

Great that Farrell's review of UK architectural policy has an advisory panel that includes philosopher Alain de Botton and Olympic cauldron designer Thomas Heatherwick. Both have spoken in Bristol in recent years…

Its Day 4 of the Enquiry by Design and its been an eventful 3 days. A general consensus seems to be reached on how the brownfield site can be redeveloped, but there are still large issues to resolve.  How much green space is needed to redevelop the site and will that be palatable to the community? How do we solve the traffic issues, is more of a strategic approach to traffic needed by BCC to help with this? Its the last day today ending with a presentation this evening on the findings…

Spotted this article in The Guardian and thought how nice it would be to have something similar at Temple Meads Station.

In a city still disfigured by hundreds of derelict buildings, the Sheffield Tap is a beacon to follow, proving that with investment, time and passion, there is much of the same to be done. Not simply for idealistic or aesthetic reasons, but to create a functioning, economy-stimulating enterprise. The Tap provides £100,000 in rent per year to the railway…

A new English Heritage publication is available online, showcasing exemplars of 'constructive conservation' including Bristol's own Quakers Friars (p35) and Clifton Lido (p28): 

Constructive Conservation: Sustainable Growth for Historic Places

'This latest volume…

Kristen Jeffers making the case for getting the basics right.

The Case for a Lazy Urbanism