ABSTRACT
This second chapter sets the context for the examination of design policies by exploring their emergence through the development of statutory town and country planning in England. It identifies the key themes in the development of design control, from a single clause in the first suburban town planning schemes to the multifarious and complex policies (between 20 and 60 design-related policies) that today express a local planning authority’s design requirements. In identifying these key themes attempts are made to relate the development of design theory (such as it is) to design control practice, and to illustrate the changing concepts of design that inform practice. However, a detailed synthesis of design theory and a working definition of design will be developed in Chapter 4 to act as a framework for policy development.
