Designing the Urban Renaissance

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xviii

   PDF

2. The Recent Reform of the English Planning System

   • Francesco Vescovi

   Pages 1-11

3. New Strategic Drivers for the Regeneration of Cities

   • Francesco Vescovi

   Pages 13-42

4. Stakeholders, Programmes and Strategies

   • Francesco Vescovi

   Pages 43-72

5. Elements of Design Strategy

   • Francesco Vescovi

   Pages 73-162

6. Conclusions: Short Notes on the English Lesson

   • Francesco Vescovi

   Pages 163-167

7. Back Matter

   Pages 169-173

   PDF

This book is an academic essay about the urban regeneration policies which have been changing the physical - and partly social - outlook of many English cities during the last 10-15 years, eventually giving birth to a process which is also known as ‘Urban Renaissance’. The main focus is on urban design: the way it has been promoted by the government as an important means for delivering attractive places in more sustainable and competitive cities. The research describes the support given to local authorities for this purpose through new laws and powers, the publishing of planning and design manuals and the delivery of especially dedicated funds, bodies and programmes. It also explores the character and purpose of new developments such as scientific parks, creative/cultural quarters, retail and commercial dis-tricts, public realm works, describing recurring design rules and features.
Readers interested in urban policies, architecture and the built environment will find a concise yet comprehensive explanation, enriched by more than a hundred pictures, on why and how many towns and cities like Birmingham, Nottingham, Leicester or Sheffield have been changing during the last decade.

• Design Strategy
• English City Planning
• Sustainable City
• Urban Design
• Urban Renaissance
• landscape/regional and urban planning

• Dipartimento di Progettazione dell'Archi, Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy

  Francesco Vescovi

Dr. Arch. Francesco Vescovi graduated in Architecture (specialization Urban Design) in Milan in 1972. He worked as consultant for three years in Milan at the City Council’s Department for Urban Regeneration (Assessorato alle Periferie). In 2005 he graduated his PhD in Architecture, Urban Design and Landscape Conservation, Politecnico di Milano with a research on ‘city marketing and urban design strategies'. He is now lecturer in Urban Design at the Faculty of Civil Architecture of Politecnico di Milano, Italy.

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