New Towns
The Urban Design Network Conference took place online on Thursday 14 November.
The new Labour government have committed to deliver 1.5 million homes within 5 years. Although the time frame might be challenging, it is a clear statement of intent towards addressing the housing crisis. Alongside meeting housing need via Local Plans, an idea with a long history has been revived: New Towns.
At this year’s RTPI Urban Design Network Conference we ask: why is the concept of new settlements so enticing to policy makers? What are the opportunities and pitfalls of trying to design and deliver places from scratch? What can we learn from the new towns of the past? And what will the policy landscape look like over the next five years?
Programme
We had three wonderful speakers:
- RTPI Research Manager David Mountain will take us through the history of New Towns and settlements.
- Patrick Clarke, masterplanning lead at AECOM will cover practical delivery with case studies including Ebbsfleet.
- New Towns Taskforce member Sowmya Parthasarathy will get us right up to speed with the national policy picture.