Following a multi-organisation and multi-disciplinary meeting in July at University College London (UCL) to discuss the impacts of the Farrell Review and platemaking leadership in England, documents relating to the scope and context of a ‘Place Alliance’ are now available (with comments sought by 25 August).
UCL & the Big Meet writes:
In July 2014, 77 organisations and 106 delegates met at The Bartlett, UCL, to discuss what The Farrell Review and UCL’s recent research both identified as an English ‘place leadership’ gap. The organisations reflected all built environment interests: design, development, planning, conservation, landscape, environment, and community. They debated how the sector might better bridge its diverse interests and expertise and overcome immediate resource challenges in order to more systematically focus on the quality of the one thing that unites all, the ‘places’ that collectively they shape.
The Big Meet was hugely constructive and concluded that the sector:
- Lacked a collective voice on questions of design and place quality
- Rarely had the opportunity to meet and debate in a constructive and collaborative manner
- Needed to take greater responsibility itself for leading the national debate on place quality
- Should establish an alliance as a first step to filling the leadership gap
- Should embrace a wide ranging and holistic view of place and both bottom up and top down voices.
Follow discussions relating to the Big Meet on Twitter with the hashtag #bigmeet
Read the discussion paper summary on the Bartlett UCL website
View further documentation relating to the Place Alliance on the Bartlett UCL website
