WHAT EXACTLY IS MEANT BY A LIVEABLE NEIGHBOURHOOD? The term ‘liveability’ in itself is ambiguous and tricky to measure, therefore so is the term ‘liveable’ (Elmahdy et al., 2021). But perhaps the notion of liveable neighbourhood oscillates between both user-perceived space, and urban design concept and planning policy. Through the lens of the latter, it Read the full article…

THE THING ABOUT SUBURBIA. The UK is home to over 68 million people and intriguingly, about 80% of its population currently reside in its suburbia (Historical England, n.d.), making the suburban house and housing estate the mainstream form of inhabitation at present. As urban design students, suburbia is a term we have probably encountered at Read the full article…

The Last Journey of the Principles and Practice of Urban Design Class At the beginning of this writing, I remembered the moment when I first chose an urban design class. The opportunity to experience some of the master’s courses in urban design through the MArch course was a great attraction to me. It is because Read the full article…

To me… Writing has never been an enjoyable task honestly. Even if I feel confident and well-versed in the discussed topics, I often find it daunting when sitting in front of a blank sheet, struggling to translate my thoughts into coherent words and sentences. Fortunately, I do have some experience with academic blog writing, due Read the full article…

What if the key to thriving cities lies in embracing nature rather than overpowering it? In an age where cities face growing challenges- from climate change to urban overcrowding, nature-based solutions (Nbs) are emerging as reliable and powerful alternatives in creating resilient and sustainable urban environments.   What are nature based solutions first and foremost? Read the full article…

The lecture by Tim Townshend, titled “Urban Design and Health and Well-being”, explored the relationship between health, environment and urban design. These discussions address about historical and many modern issues, this session providi insights that combine theory and practice. Historical links between health and the environment The relationship between health and the environment has long existed. There Read the full article…

With the ever-growing concern over the safety of our streets, it is evident social anxieties have increased over the last 100 years; this is demonstrated through the distance we allow our children to walk unaccompanied. Our great-grandfathers were allowed to walk 6 miles in 1919, our grandfathers allowed to walk 1 mile in 1950, our Read the full article…

Design Codes serve as useful planning tools that help create balanced and enjoyable communities. They make sure everything works well together by thinking about how things look, how they function, and being eco-friendly, which helps create a cohesive space that can adapt to future changes. They cover different parts of urban design, architectural style, public Read the full article…

The Smart “Enough” City The smart city concept arguably dates back to the invention of automated traffic lights, which were first deployed in 1922 in Houston, Texas. The exact origin of the concept is not tied to a specified time or individual. However, Smart cities have been around for a long time. We can also Read the full article…

My urban design learning journey For me, urban design is a new profession that is both strange and familiar. Obviously, it combines various professional knowledge such as architecture, landscape, and planning, but at the same time it has its own perspective of thinking at different scales in the city, which I have never been exposed Read the full article…

In this semester, I participated in the task of writing a blog, which was the first time I combined academic learning with personal thinking, and conducted in-depth summarization and expression through words. In this process, I not only improved my writing skills, but also deepened my understanding of urban design. Here are a few experiences Read the full article…

In urban planning, design standards are increasingly regarded as important tools for guiding development and creating high-quality, sustainable environments. These rules have evolved into business methods from the ambivalent principles of Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City ( Howard, 2003 ) to the intricacy of modern urban landscapes. What are Design Codes? Design codes offer clear, in-depth Read the full article…