USEAct Next Trilateral Meeting in Naples!!! SAVE THE DATE!

In developing localities, it is vital for a range of ‘communities of interest’ to be able to assess the range of potential development options available to them; to evaluate the relative benefits/risks associated with alternative development scenarios; and then be able to communicate with a range of wider stakeholders about what a particular development might look like.

In constrained urban areas, the situation is more complex. Debates between different ‘communities of interest’ can sometime degenerate into entrenched emotional discussions between the environmentalists (‘protecting the greenbelt’); the private sector (‘development at all costs’); and the planning function (‘the regulators’).

Discussions between these groups tend to be emotionally charged, and lack an informed evidence base. Despite the push from the private sector for development outside of the ‘urban fringe’ little or no evidence is put forward for the amount of development land, vacant commercial stock, or duration that that stock has been vacant. 

In short, despite a strong drive to develop outside the urban fringe, little or no evidence is analysed or put forward to consider what options might exist to re-develop redundant buildings or utilise pockets of redundant land within the urban fringe.  

Despite the emergence of town planning games which encourage the democratisation of the town planning process (such as SIM CITY), town planners tend to control quite tightly information and modelling tools which would allow different communities of interest to play a strong part in ‘place shaping’ and town planning.  

In response to these issues, Buckinghamshire partners have expressed an interest in developing a 3-D modelling tool which can;

• Assist in communicating the challenges, opportunities and infrastructure priorities presented in to members, stakeholders, local businesses and the community;

• Provide a technical tool for officers involved in the delivery of the infrastructure, and strategic development within Buckinghamshire, to access important infrastructure data from a single repository.

With this in mind, we set out to develop a tool which included; 

• A video/flyover of Buckinghamshire area, incorporating video/audio sound bites to communicate the key issues within the area with a clear focus on promoting the potential future infrastructure developments within the county to a wider audience – members, stakeholders, local businesses and the community;

• A GIS/Google Earth-based map of Buckinghamshire, annotated with all of the major infrastructure proposals including: strategic development sites, transport infrastructure/services, gateways/hubs, planning constraints; embedded text files to provide “click and load” functionality on a fully scalable map.

Clearly, the scope of the visual tool will be constrained by finite budgets and the pursuit of good value.