Urban Design Learning

We've made some videos of our Leeds South Bank site visit from June – have a look:

www.urbandesignlearning.com/videos-detai...

We're running an Urban Design Summer School (22-24 Sept). Get in touch if you want to know more.

What is it that UDL does? Our 2024/25 Delivery Report explains (it's snappy, readable and has plenty of graphics, in case you're wary of such documents)
www.urbandesignlearning.com/resources/pu...

Yesterday, we published the National Design Review Code of Conduct, aimed at establishing consistently high standards and transparency in panels throughout England. You can read it here:
www.urbandesignlearning.com/resources-de...

Want to find out more about new neighbourhoods that actually work? Backed by MHCLG and PAS, UDL and David Birkbeck went to Cambridge to explore five urban extensions. The full set of over 20 videos is now available at:
www.urbandesignlearning.com/learning-fro...

Four images of good-quality new housing in the Cambridge area

Interested in new neighbourhoods that work? On Friday 9th May (2-4:30pm), we will be showing the series of videos (thanks to MHCLG and PAS) we've made about what's been built in and around Cambridge, followed by a discussion. Free and open to all!

Introducing UDL's 2025/26 programme This is "Introducing UDL's 2025/26 programme" by Urban Design Learning on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

We've made a short video introducing our 2025/26 events programme...

Webinar: Design Codes for Health and Wellbeing Join us for a webinar all about our latest guidance: Design Codes for Health and Wellbeing - learn, discuss, and get inspired!

There's also a webinar to discuss the guidance on 25th March:
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/webinar-de...

Design codes for health and wellbeing - QOLF Design Codes for Health and Wellbeing provides practical advice for embedding health and wellbeing into the design coding process

Design Codes for Health and Wellbeing, guidance by the Quality of Life Foundation, Tiddalds, TCPA, TRUUD and Henley Business School – and supported by UDL - is now available. Do check it out.

www.qolf.org/what-we-do/d...

Alongside the excellent Joe Lewis from Camden, we're at Futurebuild this afternoon discussing the planning skills needed to increase and improve green infrastructure.

How are local government skills and capacity issues affecting you and your team?

If you work in a planning or placemaking team in the public sector, Public Practice wants to hear from you!

Take the 5-minute Local Authority Recruitment and Skills Survey 2025 (open until 4 March): rb.gy/oqcp75

Want to see what we've got coming up for 2025/26? You can find our 88-event new programme here:

www.urbandesignlearning.com/2025-26-prog...

This Thursday we have the third in our series of Growth Challenge events, this time looking at whether there are the right people with the right skills in the right jobs?

Booking is open to everyone – please let us know if you want to attend.

Some evidence that will feed into the discussion:

Do we have a realistic approach to both piggy backing on existing and investing in new infrastructure?

Is there enough access to affordable money for public and private deliverers of all types?

Right now, we're running the second of our Growth Challenge sessions. Here's what it's about:

Do we have a spatial and strategic approach to how we invest in the infrastructure needed for growth?

Do we understand the need for linked spatial, growth and investment strategies?

At session one of The Growth Challenge, we've had a terrific wide-ranging discussion delving into housing densities and whether British culture is as wedded to the house + garden + parking model as many local plans and (seemingly) many housebuilders believe it is. Now we're talking about BNG.

Details of our upcoming events here:
www.urbandesignlearning.com/events

(Most are for members, but The Growth Challenge is open to everyone)

Today is the first in our Growth Challenge series of events examining what's getting in the way of delivery of housing and other development we need. Right now, we're delving into the fundamentals – starting with what is planning for?

Get in touch if you want to come to the next session.

Morning! In January and February we are running a series of sessions titled The Growth Challenge, looking at the barriers to building homes and how we can overcome them. These online sessions are open to all – do come along!
Dates and times can be found at:
www.urbandesignlearning.com/events

This morning's UDL event is Planning for Movement in New Development, which kicked off with Amy Burbidge discussing Context Driven Design