ABSTRACT
The planning system in the UK is concerned with land use—deciding which uses should go in which location, and the relationships between these uses. Government attitudes to how planning should control or influence land use have varied over the years. The planning system seeks to influence a development’s layout, height, massing and appearance, among other things. It seeks not just to manage land use, but to support the creation—in other words the design—of successful places. The design of individual buildings including their disposition and detailed treatment determines how well they work, how they fit into their surroundings and how attractive they are. This is managed through planning applications and the application of planning policies. Development planning and design involves: public policy objectives, place characteristics that help to meet these objectives, and development forms that help to create these characteristics.
