ABSTRACT
Massive challenges remain to the routine achievement of design quality, and these are clearly evident in the agenda and initiatives of CABE. It recognises that the drive for better urban design has to be taken forward on many fronts – more research of design matters, better patronage and procurement (especially in public building), better public education, better design skills in planning/regeneration/development, and much more sophisticated design review. It has explored the design dimension of development control, recognising that planning authorities are under-resourced, under-skilled and too pressured for rapid decisions, but arguing for planning authorities to be proactive and much more design vigilant particularly as regards outline applications, planning conditions, post-permission amendments and enforcement. It notes failures of monitoring and review, and regrets the inability of the system to routinely add value to development, both literally and metaphorically, for developers (and householders) and the wider public. These are the issues discussed in this chapter, which is concerned to establish how the British planning system can contribute to the delivery of better urban design. It adopts an international perspective to assess how British practices and proposed reforms compare with those in other Western countries, in the hope of sharpening our agenda and aspirations for improved practice.
