We are proud to announce that KMA Director Jas Atwal has become the new Chair of the Academy of Urbanism. She succeeded Andrew Burrell in January. Jas has been actively involved in the AoU since its Foundation in 2006, having participated in Awards Assessments and orchestrated many of its events, including 10 Congresses and the […]
Kevin Murray helped to lead a major charrette-type collaborative training exercise at Isra University in Amman, Jordan, working alongside Husam Al Waer (Dundee University) and Samer Bagaeen (Brighton University). Led by Dr Nawar Alatassi, the exercise sought to simulate actual charrette process evolution over several days, with students working collaboratively in groups to address two […]
The Academy of Urbanism took its 7th Congress to Derry~Londonderry, the city on the Foyle way up on the border in the north of Ireland. Having planned it for nearly a year, we aimed to strike a balance between gaining a deeper historical understanding of Derry~Londonderry, appreciating its current stages of regeneration, whilst also undertaking […]
Just back from speaking at the Hong Kong Institute of Urban Design (HKIUD) international conference. An excellent event, picked up in their local media, not least because good urban design will play an ever-increasing part in Hong Kong’s attractiveness to businesses and tourists, and also its liveability to workers and managers. It is not just […]
I chaired a timely debate on the merits of the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in England. Kindly hosted at the London offices of Grosvenor as part of their support for the Academy of Urbanism, it included thoughtful presentations from David Lock, Charmaine Young and Paul Murrain on the day after the NPPF was […]
We had an excellent guided bus trip around the Olympic Site, viewing the permanent and temporary features. Then we had a presentation from a variety of perspectives on the nature of the legacy and the likelihood of integration with surrounding areas. There is still much to do, not least in the nature of the downstream […]
In our regular Academy at Ecobuild slot, I chaired the Towns in Transition seminar, this year including Bury St Edmunds, Derry and Totnes, the three previous finalists in our Great Towns category. The presentations respectively by Ian Poole (St Edmundbury Council), Carol and Anthony Whitty (Transition Town Totnes and Totnes Town Council) , John Kelpie […]
We arrived by train during one of the strongest storms of the year, but the weather soon improved. Oslo, like Gothenburg, is clearly a leading edge city, but is able to rethink itself from a position a greater economic strength. It has many progressive elements such as the longstanding toll road system, a green and […]
I could not make the Lisbon assessment visit, which was a shame as it was allegedly fantastic. However, several days in Gothenburg demonstrated what an exceptional city it is in terms of building on its historic identity and post-industrial transformation. There is a clear strategic vision, many component elements and programmes. Themes like culture, safety, […]
Although Derry is a city, we assessed it in the towns category because of its size. I found the journey it had travelled in the last 10-15 years to be quite impressive. The physical place had changed but, more importantly, the social and cultural dimensions had been key building blocks, with Culturlann and The Playhouse […]
