Creating value
Good urban design creates enormous additional value. Commercial value helps to enable social and environmental value. In turn they enhance financial value, creating an upward cycle of dynamic, successful communities where people enjoy living, working and playing.That is the goal of place-making.
Making a master plan is a crucial step in place-making, and the public realm is its most important element. It is the connective glue that knits the site into its surrounding area, and establishes a sequence of spaces and places which support different sorts of activities. The network of public spaces normally outlast several generations of buildings, so getting it right is essential.
By supporting various activities these spaces start to establish the use and size of the buildings which front them. Matching the right use with the right space, and flow of people through it, is fundamental to creating value.
The uses and sizes of each building plot also need to suit development and construction criteria. Flexibility in the phasing of construction makes them deliverable in a sequence that can fit into fluctuating economic, political and social factors.