Advice for cities and towns
Advice for sustainable design and management at the city scale.
Designing public space to cope with climate changeWell designed public space can alleviate the effects of climate change and adapt to future change of use.
Tags: public space, cities and towns
Co-ordinating urban and transport planningBuilding at high densities in places accessible to public transport, and concentrating development in existing urban areas, encourages sustainable travel.
Tags: transport, regions and subregions, cities and towns, neighbourhoods, buildings and spaces
Funding energy effiency programmesGovernment incentives, grants and programmes help authorities reduce demand for energy.
Tags: energy, cities and towns, neighbourhoods
Preparing a green infrastructure strategyGreen infrastructure strategies should provide an over-arching vision for managing all green and blue spaces in an area.
Tags: green infrastructure, regions and subregions, cities and towns
Future-proofing energy demandsWe should design buildings and energy strategies with enough flexibility to respond to changing technologies and ways we use energy.
Tags: energy, cities and towns, neighbourhoods, buildings and spaces
Developing city scale sustainable transport networksBetter public transport, walking and cycling provision help reduce carbon emissions in cities.
Tags: transport, regions and subregions, cities and towns
Developing an urban heat island strategyCities like London, Tokyo and Stuttgart have strategies to reduce summer temperatures and cope with hot weather.
Tags: green infrastructure, cities and towns
Thinking differently - the energy hierarchyThe three Rs of the European waste minimisation hierarchy - reduce, reuse, recycle - can be applied across sustainable development, particularly to energy.
Tags: energy, regions and subregions, cities and towns, neighbourhoods
Using thermal masterplanningThermal masterplanning helps neighbourhoods to use energy more efficiently and avoid wasting heat.
Tags: energy, cities and towns, neighbourhoods
Improving street design and layoutWell-designed streets encourage walking and cycling.
Tags: public space, transport, cities and towns, neighbourhoods
Providing a sustainable street networkStreet networks should support better bus connections and safer provision for cyclists, to encourage a shift to modes of transport other than the private car.
Tags: public space, regions and subregions, cities and towns
Planning for sustainable water managementWater management plans can help to reduce water use, for example by introducing high water efficiency standards for new and refurbished buildings.
Tags: water, regions and subregions, cities and towns
Improving the energy performance of existing homesAccording to the Sustainable Development Commission, energy used in existing homes accounts for 27 per cent of all UK emissions and around 85 per cent of the existing stock will still be in use in 2050.
Tags: energy, cities and towns, neighbourhoods, buildings and spaces
Choosing low carbon and renewable technologiesThis page provides an initial overview of technologies to reduce carbon emissions.
Tags: energy, regions and subregions, cities and towns, neighbourhoods, buildings and spaces
Preparing a tree strategyTrees are an indispensable component of green infrastructure, providing key environmental services such as improving air quality and reducing the urban heat island effect. Yet many are uprooted each year.
Tags: green infrastructure, national level, cities and towns
Spatial waste planningLocal authorities are responsible for the location and design of facilities for sustainable waste collection and treatment.
Tags: waste, regions and subregions, cities and towns
Using green infrastructure to alleviate flood riskGreen infrastructure networks can be used to reduce surface water run-off and store flood water.
Tags: green infrastructure, public space, water, regions and subregions, cities and towns, neighbourhoods
Establishing surface water management plansLocal authorities should use surface water management plans to manage flood risk, by creating more natural, sustainable drainage systems.
Tags: water, regions and subregions, cities and towns
Establishing local networks for energy supply / combined heat and power Remote power plants are inefficient, with over 60 per cent of the energy from fossil fuels being lost through transmission and waste heat before the electricity reaches our buildings.
Tags: energy, cities and towns, neighbourhoods
Integrating transportLow carbon travel requires very effective city-wide integration between different modes of transport.
Tags: transport, cities and towns, neighbourhoods
Encouraging low carbon vehicle technologies and fuelsThe take up of more efficient vehicles and alternative fuels is vital to reduce CO2 emissions from the transport sector.
Tags: energy, national level, transport, regions and subregions, cities and towns
Maximising access to public open spaceEasy access to quality green space improves quality of life for people living in towns and cities.
Tags: public space, regions and subregions, cities and towns
Reconciling waste to energy with recyclingWaste to energy and recycling both have a part to play in sustainable waste management.
Tags: energy, waste, regions and subregions, cities and towns, neighbourhoods
Protecting established wildlife habitatsRelict patches of wildlife habitat are vital for plants and animals in urban areas.
Tags: green infrastructure, cities and towns
Designing successful public spaceSuccessful public spaces are well-used and safe.
Tags: public space, cities and towns
Managing trafficTraffic demand management includes measures such as controlled parking, lower speed limits and greater use of information and communication technologies (ICT).
Tags: transport, regions and subregions, cities and towns
Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS)Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) manage surface water run-off in a way that stimulates natural drainage systems.
Tags: water, regions and subregions, cities and towns, neighbourhoods
Designing public spaces from sustainable resourcesPlanners and designers can minimise carbon emissions by using low carbon construction materials from sustainable sources in the design of public space. think about how choice of materials and adaptation to climate change
Tags: public space, cities and towns, neighbourhoods
Creating a public space networkA network of attractive public spaces and routes will connect places together and support walking and cycling.
Tags: public space, cities and towns, neighbourhoods
Setting local area agreement targetsLocal area agreement targets can help secure government funding for green space projects.
Tags: green infrastructure, cities and towns
Growing food in towns and citiesFood production, processing and transportation is responsible for 8% of the average person's carbon (and 23% of their ecological) footprint. We can reduce this by using green space in towns and cities to grow our own fruit and veg.
Tags: green infrastructure, regions and subregions, cities and towns
Choosing waste to energy technologiesThere are three main waste to energy processes: incineration, anaerobic digestion and gasification and pyrolysis.
Tags: energy, waste, regions and subregions, cities and towns
Developing water cycle strategiesWater cycle studies, which explore the local capacity for development in terms of water resources, should increasingly inform the preparation of planning strategies.
Tags: water, cities and towns
Reducing the demand for waterEducating consumers about how to conserve water can significantly reduce consumption.
Tags: water, cities and towns, neighbourhoods
Preserving wetlands and habitatsExisting wetlands provide natural sites for surface water management and treatment and are therefore important assets for the future.
Tags: water, cities and towns, neighbourhoods
Using green infrastructure to combat climate changeGreen infrastructure – plants, green spaces and water – can help to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and help places adapt to the effects of climate change.
Tags: green infrastructure, regions and subregions, cities and towns, neighbourhoods
Choosing low-energy lifestylesWhile significant energy reductions can be achieved through the way we design our cities and the buildings within them, how we live our lives is also a key factor in reducing energy use.
Tags: energy, regions and subregions, cities and towns, neighbourhoods, buildings and spaces
Creating new patterns of ownership (ESCOs and MUSCOs)National renewable energy targets for 2020 provide significant opportunities for new patterns of ownership of energy generation and delivery systems.
Tags: energy, cities and towns, neighbourhoods
Being aware of brownfield habitatsAreas with previous human use, such as former industrial sites, can be great for wildlife, especially when they have been left undisturbed by people.
Tags: green infrastructure, cities and towns
Reducing emissions from freightFreight distribution strategies are needed at the regional level to encourage modal shift and more efficient operations. These will involve partnership working between private and public sectors.
Tags: transport, regions and subregions, cities and towns
Powering transport with fuel cellsHydrogen is currently being piloted in the public transport sector on bus fleets in various locations worldwide
Tags: energy, transport, cities and towns
Using wind powerWind power has normally been regarded as a technology primarily for rural areas but technological and design advances increasingly mean that it can also be integrated into urban fringe locations.
Tags: energy, regions and subregions, cities and towns, neighbourhoods
Collecting wood fuelIf managed properly, English forestry could provide the heat requirements for approximately 500,000 homes and electricity for 1,000,000 homes.
Tags: energy, green infrastructure, cities and towns, neighbourhoods
Implementing road pricing and chargingThere is a range of pricing policy instruments that vary in specification and, potentially, performance. These include road user charging schemes and private parking charge schemes.
Tags: transport, regions and subregions, cities and towns, neighbourhoods
Controlling parkingParking control is often a very under-utilised tool for managing the demand for travel. An area-wide parking strategy can be used to restrict parking supply and/or increase charging levels.
Tags: public space, transport, regions and subregions, cities and towns, neighbourhoods
Planning a project waste strategyAt the city scale clear aspirations are required for the management of waste for construction projects. This can form part of overarching strategies for all waste through planning documents or corporate targets.
Tags: waste, cities and towns, buildings and spaces
'Smarter choice' soft measuresSmarter choices are techniques for influencing people’s travel behaviour towards more sustainable options, such as encouraging school, workplace and individualised travel planning.
Tags: transport, cities and towns, neighbourhoods
Re-circulating materials between construction sitesInitiatives and networks are required to support the re-use and re-circulation of materials between construction site projects – large and small.
Tags: waste, regions and subregions, cities and towns
Separating sewersUntil the 1950s, most sewers in the UK were constructed as, or evolved to become, combined systems – taking both sewage and storm water.
Tags: water, cities and towns
CABE and Urban Practitioners
with the cities of Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield