Themes

Built environment

Showcase - best practice
Our website of case studies to inform and inspire. Showcase highlights projects that contribute to creating better communities. These examples give practical insight into developing sustainable communities. Visit Showcase at showcase.homesandcommunities.co.uk Before creating Showcase we researched which sources of best practice knowledge are already used by sustainable communities practitioners and how we can make this better. We're grateful to our stakeholders for their help with this research.
Understanding Place-making free online course
Online course that provides a deeper understanding of place-making. You will work with built environment professionals, community workers and volunteers to gain a shared understanding of how to create and manage sustainable communities . The course is facilitated by an experienced tutor who will provide advice and guidance from start to finish. Discussion forums will provide feedback and help you to share ideas and experiences. Each online course consists of five facilitated workshops, which will help you to: Develop a real understanding of the term 'sustainable community' Explore the national and regional policy context and perspectives Consider the roles, responsibilities and skills of the various organisations and individuals responsible for delivery  * Note - this course used to be called ' In A Nutshell '
Advisory Team for Large Applications (ATLAS)
ATLAS is a part of HCA which provides an independent advisory service to local planning authorities that are experiencing the pressures of increased development activity. ATLAS currently operates nationally with team members based in offices in Milton Keynes, Birmingham, Warrington, Leeds, Ashford and Bristol. The team is sponsored by the Department of Communities & Local Government (CLG) and hosted by the Homes & Communities Agency. Members of the ATLAS team are experienced in town planning and development issues and have been advising and assisting Local Planning Authorities across a wide variety of complex projects all of which contain a significant number of residential units. The team has rapidly expanded to offer guidance and assistance across a wide range of planning and technical development issues including transport, urban design, social infrastructure and environmental sustainability.
Design to help town centres survive
This masterclass will look at the characteristics of successful town centres and consider the lessons they can teach us. Out of town competition and now the recession mean that our cherished town centres are finding it harder and harder to cope. But in some places they are thriving, often where the public realm is practical and appealing, where the mix of uses is exciting and where it’s easy to get to and around the centre.
Urban Design & Streets Foundation Course
This three day course covers all the essential design issues from understanding policy to designing an inclusive scheme. This is an intensive three day course on 9, 10, & 12 February covering the fundamental ideas in Better Streets. You will learn about street design principles, risk, safety and liability, what makes a street cluttered and how to prevent this, and how to create inclusive public spaces. This session includes lectures, exercises and site visits.
Urban Design & Planning Foundation Course
This course, offered over three full days, covers all the essential design issues. This is an intensive three day course covering how design is dealt with within the planning system. It covers both policy and development management issues, including a mock appeal hearing and design appraisal techniques.
Urban Design Introduction Day
This one day session will help you understand what urban design is, what makes a good place, and why it is important. This introductory day has been developed to cover both streets and housing aspects of urban design and the line-up promises to be one of the most interesting and informative sessions UDL has seen to date. It will help you understand what urban design is about and why, for you, it is relevant to your work. It will briefly cover:
Spaceshaper 9-14 Facilitator Training
Training for facilitators who are passionate about young people having a say in their neighbourhood. Spaceshaper is a tool for anyone who is keen to improve their local parks, streets or squares. An exciting new version has been developed enabling 9 to 14 year olds to get involved in the developments that affect them. It offers practical, creative and interactive resources that encourage young people to contribute to discussions about the future of their neighbourhood. Training is open for facilitators!
Spaceshaper 9-14 Facilitator Training
Training for facilitators who are passionate about young people having a say in their neighbourhood. Spaceshaper is a tool for anyone who is keen to improve their local parks, streets or squares. An exciting new version has been developed enabling 9 to 14 year olds to get involved in the developments that affect them. It offers practical, creative and interactive resources that encourage young people to contribute to discussions about the future of their neighbourhood. Training is open for facilitators!
Spaceshaper 9-14 Facilitator Training
Training for facilitators who are passionate about young people having a say in their neighbourhood. Spaceshaper is a tool for anyone who is keen to improve their local parks, streets or squares. An exciting new version has been developed enabling 9 to 14 year olds to get involved in the developments that affect them. It offers practical, creative and interactive resources that encourage young people to contribute to discussions about the future of their neighbourhood.
Spaceshaper 9-14 Facilitator Training
Training for facilitators who are passionate about young people having a say in their neighbourhood. Spaceshaper is a tool for anyone who is keen to improve their local parks, streets or squares. An exciting new version has been developed enabling 9 to 14 year olds to get involved in the developments that affect them. It offers practical, creative and interactive resources that encourage young people to contribute to discussions about the future of their neighbourhood. Training is open for facilitators!
Spaceshaper 9-14 Facilitator Training
Training for facilitators who are passionate about young people having a say in their neighbourhood. Spaceshaper is a tool for anyone who is keen to improve their local parks, streets or squares. An exciting new version has been developed enabling 9 to 14 year olds to get involved in the developments that affect them. It offers practical, creative and interactive resources that encourage young people to contribute to discussions about the future of their neighbourhood. Training is open for facilitators!
Spaceshaper 9-14 Facilitator Training
Spaceshaper 9-14 is for those who are passionate about young people having a say in their neighbourhood Spaceshaper is a tool for anyone who is keen to improve their local parks, streets or squares. An exciting new version has been developed enabling 9 to 14 year olds to get involved in the developments that affect them. It offers practical, creative and interactive resources that encourage young people to contribute to discussions about the future of their neighbourhood. Training is open for facilitators.

Physical Regeneration and the Built Environment
Delivering physical regeneration - past and potential future approaches. This one-day seminar will provide an overview of where physical regeneration initiatives have led to successful places – from participation, masterplanning and design stages through to development and delivery. You will review past approaches, reflect on what lessons can be learned from previous good practice and mistakes, consider the impact of design and how physical regeneration can best be delivered today and potential approaches to financing.
Mixed use development workshop
The academy held a one-day workshop on the future of mixed use development in the current economic climate. We've summaried the discussions in the practice paper which you can download (please be patient, it's a large file)
New Ventures award category
Category finalists CATEGORY WINNER: North Solihull Partnership
Low Carbon Development award category
Category finalists CATEGORY WINNER: Cross Street South, Bromford Group, Wolverhampton
How to Turn a Place Around - Effective Regeneration
Retail-led regeneration exhausted? How do you manage and deliver the change your town or city needs to turn it around? This one day workshop will take both a strategic and practical approach to revitalising underperforming centres, and look at all stages of the process from the initial proposal through managing and delivering real change.
Future Communities website
futurecommunities.net is all about community participation and place management, it's been created to help people who build communities. The site shows well presented, clear examples of projects that have created sustainable communities. Additionally the site provides background guidance for people to implement on their own development projects.
Leadership of Place in the Knowledge Based Economy
This research and development project looks at what leadership of place will entail in the future, and how future leaders can be prepared for this role. It aims to understand and explain the strategic leadership challenges in a new context - economic development, planning and regeneration activity in the knowledge-based economy (KBE). The project has involved consultation events and workshops with leaders across the public and private sector in the UK and Europe, and the development of six case studies were chosen to examine the role of strategic leadership in place-shaping initiatives. You can download the research summary, full report and case studies as PDF files - they are listed on the right
Ecobuild
The world's biggest event dedicated to sustainable design, construction and the built environment. This three day event attracts over 800 exhibitors from the sustainable construction sector. There will be many high-profile and often controversial speakers, including James Naughtie, Germaine Greer and Alistair Campbell. Over 100 seminars will be on offer, discussing relevant and pressing issues that will show delegates examples of best practice and practical learning points.
Learning Laboratories
We've been working with regional partners on live projects to pilot innovations and test out new ways of working. This will enable us to: Understand the skills deficits in each region, both generic and professional Identify how to increase skills levels and build capacity Develop an understanding of what changes behaviour  Learn lessons from past programmes, present new approaches and allow sharing and transfer elsewhere Demonstrate how knowledge, skills and experience can influence change Build an understanding of each region's position and through this the overall national picture Our regional projects are listed to the right, as well as the evaluation reports to accompany them.
Leadership of Place
Transforming communities by changing the way we lead Leadership of Place is a targeted and tailored leadership capacity building and research programme delivered in partnership with the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies (CURS) at the University of Birmingham. It will help leaders of place combine the required spatial literacy with the relational skills to develop collective understanding and common purpose, key to delivering large scale projects. From Autumn 2009, regional learning hubs will provide tailor made support, networks, learning resources and events. The focus of the hubs will be based on analysis of the leadership requirements of targeted areas in each of English regions and London. The programme has developed from our research, Leadership of Place for the Knowledge Based Economy . The research and case studies aim to understand and explain the strategic leadership challenges in a new context - economic development, planning and regeneration activity in the knowledge-based economy (KBE). You can download the research summary and full report as PDF files - they are listed on the right.
Eldonian book tells story of a community reborn
A book celebrating the Eldonians community in Liverpool has been published to provide an example of successful urban renewal. 'The Rebirth of Liverpool - The Eldonian Way' was funded by ASC. The book chronicles the last 30 years of the award-winning Eldonian Village development, largely using the residents' own words. In 1977, people living in tenements in the Eldonian Village in the Vauxhall district faced demolition of their homes and dispersal across Liverpool. However, they defeated the plans and worked with professionals to create an exemplar sustainable community, which is managed by the people who live in the area.

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