Building the 21st Century Home

Book excerpt: The book reviews the way that planning policies, architectural trends and economic forces have undermined the viability of urban areas in Britain since the Industrial Revolution. Now that much post-war planning philosophy is being discredited we are left with few urban models other than garden city inspired suburbia. Are these appropriate in the 21st century given environmental concerns, demographic change, social and economic pressures? The authors suggest that these trends point to a very different urban future. If the 19th century home was the terrace and the 20th century was the suburban semi, what will be the 21st century home? In the 21st century it is likely that a change will take place in the way that we build our towns and cities, as dramatic as that brought about by the garden city pioneers a hundred years ago. Change should not, however, be brought about by regulation or by forcing people against their will to return to towns and cities. Instead, this book argues that we must reform our towns and cities so that they become attractive, humane places where people will choose to live. The Sustainable Urban Neighbourhood is a model for such reform and the book describes what this would look like and how it might be brought about. David Rudlin BA, MTP and Dr Nicholas Falk MBA are directors of URBED (The Urban and Economic Development Group), a not-for-profit consultancy which has been working since 1976 to devise practical solutions to the problems of urban areas. They were responsible for the '21st Century Homes: Building to Last' report for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation which first developed the notion of the Sustainable Urban Neighbourhood. David Rudlin is a town planner and urban designer and has been closely involved in the redevelopment of the 'Hulme Guide to Development'. He was also a member of an advisory panel responsible for drawing up the 'Manchester Guide to Development'. Nicholas Falk is an economist and strategic planner who formerly worked for the Ford Motor Company before establishing URBED in 1976. He has written and lectured widely on urban issues and was the principle author of 'Vital and Viable Town Centres: Meeting the Challenge' for the Department of the Environment. · Explore how to combine social, environmental and economic thinking with urban design · Benefit from Rudlin and Falk's expertise in urban planning and development