Firstly, hello and thank you for reading our blog! When I started the March programme in September 2018, I couldn’t have imagined that I’d be involved in running and writing a blog and it being part of my assessment. I think for many of us the blog writing experience was a very new concept. Even…
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What attracts you to a space?   In her recent lecture “Measuring Pubic Space: The Star Model” by Dr Georgiana Varna, she talked about the five dimensions of publicness (through the star model) and how to measure the publicness of public spaces.[1] The aspect that intrigued me was when she discussed Jan Gehl’s measurements for…
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I was excited to take part in the blog; it is a platform which I have never personally used before and I was enthusiastic to share my opinions publicly. When putting my own work on the internet for everyone and anyone to see, it is a daunting and unfamiliar task – I have become accustomed…
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I never thought that as part of my University experience I’d be involved in running and writing a blog. So, discovering that this was part of the Urban Design module was a nice surprise and I was excited to see how I’d find it. I will admit that it proved to an interesting challenge trying…
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In a lecture presented by IDPartnership, the first slide outlined their company aim, which read: ‘creating sustainable places that enrich the lives of inhabitants and inspire people to live in an environmentally responsible manner.’ [1] I then wondered what extremity we can reach to design sustainable places. In my research I found a type of…
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I had never written a blogpost until I wrote my first one for this page. I wasn’t too sure what to expect from the experience, or if it was something I would enjoy, or even what the right or wrong way to write a blogpost was. Although, over the duration of this experience, I came…
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Whilst urban design remains a broad, multi-disciplinary practice, there are several elements that urban design must consider when trying to create better places for people. These include aspects such as sustainability, aesthetics, functionality, diversity and flexibility. Such components are particularly relevant and necessary in residential developments in which, theoretically, people should be at the fundamental…
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The holy trinity of walking, cycling and public transport usually springs to mind when the term ‘sustainable transport’ is mentioned, whilst private vehicles sits at the polar opposite. Transport Canada identifies the goal of sustainable transport as “[ensuring] that environment, social and economic considerations are factored into decisions affecting transportation activity” (VTPI, 2017). However, with…
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The lecture by John Sparkes on the urban renewal scheme initiated by South Tyneside Council in South Shields touched upon many themes. However, the most striking one for me was the notion of preservation of historical heritage and identity. As a great admirer of everything related to history, at that point I was quick to…
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Charrette week at Newcastle 2018 addressed the theme of ‘spectacular, failure, help’. It was a challenging and thought provoking brief that brought together students from across the school and departments, encouraging them to combine their unique experiences and skills to create a creative installation surrounding the theme. Myself and four others were challenged to create…
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