What is urban design?
Urban design is concerned with making places work better for people; it is as much concerned with how a place functions, as it is with how it looks.
It addresses the relationships between people, places, movement, buildings and the natural environment; protecting their past and creating a future which gives people pleasant and sustainable places in which to live and work.
The role of urban design is recognised in the government's main planning policy document which sates that "...good design is a key aspect of sustainable development, is indivisible form good planning, and should contribute positively to making places better for people" (National Planning Policy Framework 2012).
Urban design in Cheltenham
Urban design in Cheltenham is delivered by the townscape team which has skills in landscape architecture, urban design, transport, heritage, trees, engineering and business and economic development.
The work of the urban design team includes:
- advice on planning matters
- designing and running projects to improve streets and public spaces predominantly for the Cheltenham Development Task Force (CDTF)
- liaison with the county council's highway team on the design of streets and traffic management
- work with community groups and others on projects to redesign streets and spaces and
- work with the Public Art Panel