What is urban design?

Urban Design is the practice of shaping the physical features and to make high-quality connections between places and buildings for the enjoyable and safe activity of people.  While creating places for people, urban design must respect and enhance the natural environment and use resources efficiently.

Urban Design Charter

The Urban Design Charter is a commitment by the Victorian Government to make cities and towns in Victoria more liveable through good urban design.  The Charter identifies the following principles as essential qualities for the functioning of good public environments, in making places that are valued and significant for those who use them.

• Structure: organise places so their parts relate well to each other
• Accessibility: provide ease, safety and choice of access for all people
• Legibility: help people to understand how places work and to find their way around
• Animation: stimulate activity and a sense of vitality in public places
• Fit and function: support the intended uses of spaces while also allowing for their adaptability
• Complementary mixed uses: integrate complementary activities to promote synergies between them
• Sense of place: recognise and enhance the qualities that give places a valued identity
• Consistency and variety: balance order and diversity in the interests of appreciating both
• Continuity and change: maintain a sense of place and time by embracing change yet respecting heritage values
• Safety: design spaces that minimise risks of personal harm and support safe behaviour
• Sensory pleasure: create spaces that engage the senses and delight the mind
• Inclusiveness and interaction: create places where all people are free to encounter each other as equals.

Further explanation of each of the principles:

Urban Design Charter Principles (PDF - 43 KB)

Urban Design Charter Principles (DOC - 5 KB) 

The Value of Good Urban Design

When a place is designed well it provides measurable social, cultural, economic and environmental benefits.
Good urban design offers:

• Significant benefits to the community in terms of wellbeing, productivity, efficiency and creativity. 
• Long term cost savings and returns in the management of and flexibility of a space
• Health benefits and makes more sustainable cities by encouraging physical exercise and sustainable transport modes
• Community safety through making towns and cities safer and more secure.

Encouraging Good Urban Design

Organisations and individuals can focus on the following approaches to suit their purposes and capabilities. These are:

• Leadership by governments, corporations and professional organisations
  Develop policies supporting good urban design
  Establish awards to acknowledge and celebrate good urban design
  Provide access to urban design expertise
  Raise awareness among the public, the development industry and at all levels of government, and promote attitudes likely to result in good urban design
  Establish a process of peer reviews to promote best possible urban design practice and professional organisations. 
  
  
• Strategic planning
  Anticipate and plan for change with urban design frameworks and structure plans – review plans regularly to maintain their relevance
  Publish and promote plans to ensure awareness of them.
  
  
• Integrated project delivery
  Integrate urban design in projects from the beginning
  Analyse and report on design impacts of all projects using expert third-party assessments or critiques, where appropriate
  Support multi-disciplinary input and collaborative design.
  
  
• Alliances collaboration between organisations
  Ensure inter-departmental cooperation in large organisations
  Develop partnerships between state and local government.
  Develop public-private partnerships with developers, professional associations and community groups
  
  
• Consultation to represent everyone’s interests
  Maintain dialogue with interest groups and undertake stakeholder and community consultation
  Provide access to information and policies that influence decision-making
  Invite public comment and debate of plans and designs.
  
  
• Education at professional, academic, corporate and community levels
  Undertake research through project reviews and post-occupancy evaluations
  Utilise technical innovation by exploring and analysing new design approaches
  Share information by publicising good projects,manuals and guidelines, and support awards for good urban design projects
  Support training and professional development via formal education in courses and informal education through staff exchanges.
  
  
• Business practice improvements
  Establish performance standards
  Agree on milestones, monitoring and reporting mechanisms, including third-party reviews where appropriate.