The Commission of Architecture and the Built Environment have some good literature and case studies on master planning, so today I have focused my research on this, they have two great guides on what makes a good master plan. Below are some good pages which are taken from the guide along with some real-life case studies.
A masterplan addresses the multifaceted aspects that make places successful:
- the quality of the buildings and spaces and their management
- the way these come together to create unique places
- built form in relation to history, culture and landscape
- the provision of services
- the engagement of local people and users in defining and being involved in the process of change
- the economic and financial realities
- the role of different agencies in delivering investment and change.
Masterplanning embraces a wide range of complex, sometimes conflicting, issues and is a positive, proactive process that can bring significant benefits by:
- helping shape the three-dimensional physical form that responds to local economic and social dynamics
- helping identify the potential of an area or site for development
- unlocking previously under-developed land
- engaging the local community in thinking about their role in a development or regeneration
- helping build consensus about the future of an area and identify priorities for action
- increasing land values, and making more schemes viable
What we mean by a masterplan includes both the process by which organisations undertake analysis and prepare strategies, and the proposals that are needed to plan for major change in a defined physical area. This document is concerned with ‘spatial masterplans’, which set out proposals for buildings, spaces, movement strategy and land use in three dimensions and match these proposals to a delivery strategy. This is the definition provided in Towards an urban renaissance (Urban Task Force, ODPM 1999). For a masterplan to be complete it must be supported by financial, economic and social policy documents and delivery mechanisms, without which the spatial plan has little meaning or likelihood of effective implementation.
- shows how the streets, squares and open spaces of a neighbourhood are to be connected
- defines the heights, massing and bulk of buildings
- sets out suggested relationships between buildings and public spaces
- determines the distribution of activities/uses that will be allowed
- identifies the network of movement patterns for people moving by foot, cycle, car or public transport, service and refuse vehicles
- sets out the basis for provision of other infrastructure elements such as utilities
- relates physical form to the socio-economic and cultural context and stakeholder interests
- allows an understanding of how well a new, urban neighbourhood is integrated with the surrounding urban
(CABE, 2004)
References
CABE, C. f. A. a. B. E., 2002. Design and Reviewed Masterplans. [Online]
Available at: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110118155352/http://www.cabe.org.uk/files/design-review-ed-masterplans.pdf
[Accessed 13 01 2019].
CABE, C. f. A. a. t. B. E., 2004. Creating a Successful Masterplan. [Online]
Available at: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110118111818/http://www.cabe.org.uk/files/creating-successful-masterplans.pdf
[Accessed 13 01 2019].
