Amman ‘People-Places’ Charrette Workshop

Academy of Urbanism, charrette, charrette training, strategic design, strategic planning, urban design, urbanism

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 […]

AoU Derry~Londonderry Congress VII

Academy of Urbanism

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 […]

Hong Kong Urban Design

Academy of Urbanism, urban design, urbanism

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 […]

Kevin Murray chairing the NPPF debate at the Academy of Urbanism

NPPF : Friend or foe? AoU debate

Academy of Urbanism, urbanism

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 […]

AoU Olympic Site Visit

Academy of Urbanism, urbanism

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 […]

Towns in Transition, Ecobuild

Academy of Urbanism, urbanism

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 […]

AoU City Assessment Oslo

Academy of Urbanism, urbanism

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 […]

AoU City Assessment Gothenburg

Academy of Urbanism, urbanism

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, […]

Aou Great Towns Assessment visit to Derry

Academy of Urbanism, urbanism

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 […]

Richard McCarthy on localism

Academy of Urbanism

CLG Director Richard McCarthy spoke to the Academy of Urbanism end of year review, setting out some of the Coalition government’s thinking behind the Localism Bill that was announced at the beginning of the same week. Clearly not all the processes and criteria are fully thought through yet, with some elements to follow as national […]