Comments for Willie Miller Urban Design

Comment on Glasgow’s M74 Extension – a view from the road? by wim

wim — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:35:50 +0000

Thanks Kevin – it is a more featureless piece of city than the M8 sections but there are points along the new road that could have been handled in a more constructive way such as the River Clyde crossing or the potential views of the city centre. A huge opportunity missed.

Comment on Glasgow’s M74 Extension – a view from the road? by Kevin Steele

Kevin Steele — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 13:55:30 +0000

Let’s face it the M74 extension goes through the South Side, whereas the M8 goes straight through the centre, touches the outer fringe of the West End and then the fab view up and down the Clyde when you go over the Kingston Bridge. Blaming the lack of landmarks is hardly the M74’s fault!

The best bit about the M74 extension for most people is that they are no longer looking at a sea of stationary vehicles in front of them at rush hour…..

Comment on Bordeaux Métropole 3.1 by Nick Wright

Nick Wright — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 17:33:12 +0000

This is all quite a change from my recollections of French planning as a student 20 odd years ago, where there was a strong focus on planners as architects (les urbanistes). In Bordeaux at least, they seem to have moved towards planning as something which is much more strategic, flexible, open and progressive.

There’s lots in there to comment on. It’s interesting that “energy and smart grid” is cited as a structuring principle, alongside biodiversity, transport, settlement hierarchy etc. That feels a long way away from where development planning is in the UK.

And I really like the focus on process, rather than fixed outcomes. This contrasts with the advice we’ve been handed from the Scottish Government’s Planning Division in recent years, which tells the planning profession to focus on fixed outcomes (in the guise of masterplans) rather than procedure. They’re right that the planning profession shouldn’t be so focussed on procedure – but a focus on process rather than fixed outcomes seems, to me, entirely the right way to go.

I can feel a trip to Bordeaux coming on…

Comment on Tornagrain and Scottish Urbanism by wim

wim — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:25:28 +0000

Thanks Cathy – I think there is certainly an issue about how and why Tornagrain was selected and I agree that this article doesn’t go there and instead deals with the detail of the proposal. There is a wider discussion about reinforcing existing towns and cities rather than building new settlements and this is particularly apposite in the case of Inverness.

Comment on Tornagrain and Scottish Urbanism by Cathy Stafford

Cathy Stafford — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:38:47 +0000

The reference to communities does not seem to give a balanced view of how the proposals arose and the significant oppostion to and concerns voiced by the public and communities regarding these proposals for this large scale development currently contrary to the existing adopted Inverness Local Plan.

Comment on People and streets by nick wright planning » Blog Archive » Hans Monderman - safer traffic management

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:22:44 +0000

[…] 4 British examples as well as robust arguments for why this approach should be used more, whilst Willie Miller Urban Design has more information about how Hans’ ideas have been progressed in the […]

Comment on Terrain vague: place and landscape by David Barrie

David Barrie — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:34:45 +0000

sorry, i never picked up your reply. your right. but our obsession with cleanliness and tidiness now seems to pervade. just look at the food we eat and what’s acceptable or not. although everyone laughed at the arrival of minimalist art a long time ago – remember those bricks at the Tate? – for some reason minimalism seems to pervade everything just now. and it doesn’t tend to come cheap!

Comment on The distinctiveness of Bolton by Willie Miller

Willie Miller — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 15:20:59 +0000

Thanks Nick – the future blog would depend on Drew since it is very much his approach. I will make the suggestion though and see what happens!

Comment on The distinctiveness of Bolton by Nick Wright

Nick Wright — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 13:21:44 +0000

Very interesting report – the fusion of community input and expert urban design analysis seems to work very well, leading logically to informed policy conclusions.

The urban design analysis is excellent – wonderful diagrams like the structural analysis diagram, coupled with insightful analysis like the “shatter zone” concept.

I’d love to understand more about the pros and cons of the storytelling methodology: it seems a better way of getting positive community input than stickies-on-boards (which can often lead to a focus on negatives) – it would be fascinating to find out in more detail how it worked out, how the cascading training worked, etc etc.

How about a future blog giving your views on the storytelling?

Comment on Remarkable Rieselfeld by Nick Wright

Nick Wright — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 15:05:22 +0000

I’m not sure whether to be happy that properly planned development can happen in 21st century Europe… or to be depressed that we’re so far off the mark in the UK.

On balance, I think I’m depressed, as the the holy grail of properly planned development seems to get ever further away the more we create new agencies, strategies and legislation. But at least those of us who are committed and vaguely competent can keep on beavering away to do our individual bit as well as we can…