Good design the only choice

Dr Richard Simmons, CABE chief executive, discusses design quality in the context of the sustainable communities plan.

Design quality doesn't have to suffer just because we need to build at volume. We can start by learning from past mistakes and listening to what people want.

'I used to look out on hills covered in trees. Now it's just the roofs of boring housing estates'. So says my partner. Marriage to someone who watched the expansion of the Medway towns in the 60s and 70s can be salutary. You have to unpack the baggage of fear and loathing of previous high-volume, rapid-build housing programmes before you can talk to people about housing growth and market renewal.

Will the sustainable communities plan repeat those past mistakes? People have the right to expect that it won't. At February's sustainable communities summit in Manchester , CABE's aim was to show that it doesn't need to.

We don't believe it's inevitable that quality has to suffer because we need to build a lot of homes quickly or transform decaying neighbourhoods fast enough to prevent social disintegration. But we accept that there is a risk that good design could lose out to volume and pace. How can we avoid this risk?

First, we must understand that things are different now. We could repeat overdependence on a small number of prefabrication systems; submission to architectural ideology; creation of nowhere places where nobody with choice wants to live; segregation of homes from jobs; building ghetto social housing.

But new factors mean that history isn't just repeating itself. People expect more choice in our consumer economy. Challenge has replaced deference for public authorities. Lifestyles are changing. More people are older, living alone or in serial relationships. In a more diverse society, suspicion of newcomers may be compounded by racism, or diversity may be seen as creating livelier neighbourhoods.

People have seen the world. It's no longer just the elite of the designing and dining classes who have enjoyed café society and other cultures' visions of the city beautiful. Expectations are rising as a result. We value historic environments more. We see them as the starting point for incorporating the new, not a symbol that we are out of date. We have begun to understand that resources are finite. People want to leave a lighter footprint on the planet.

So by all means let's learn from past mistakes. We don't need to be locked into just one or two volumetric building systems. We can build mixed communities. We know good design isn't just about style.

Let us also, though, take advantage of the new spirit of diversity and choice. Let us keep and adapt the best of the past; but be confident enough to allow 21st Century culture to make its own mark. How? By demanding that the only choices are between places of the highest design quality.

We must learn from the places people love. We must use the new planning system to demand well-designed places through positive guidance. We must employ the best inter-disciplinary design teams, guide them towards a clear community vision and then unleash their creativity. Above all we must offer leadership. Communities deserve to know why change is necessary. To debate how it can improve where they live. We must listen to what they tell us about what makes their place special. But we must not lose sight of the obligation to be advocates for future residents and a sustainable future for our planet.

CABE and its partners have the knowledge and the means to support this process. It's about extending choice. It's about creating places which are adaptable to new, more sustainable lifestyles. It's about integrating them into existing communities in ways which improve things for everyone. It's about planning for this right now. Time invested up front in good design means quicker decisions, faster delivery, lower costs and more time to engage with local people.

We know how to leave a legacy we will be proud of, not one that we will be chastised for. Make good design the only choice.