Sanderson, L., Stone, SH., 2017.

The Way We Live Now : How Architectural Education can support the Urban Development of Small Settlements

One of the most significant aspects of twenty-first century society is the need for the individual to lay claim to the control of many aspects of the circumstances of life. Traditional government, in which policy is formed by experts and administered by state officials, is increasingly being challenged. Top-down enforcement of regulations, rules or directives is no longer acceptable to many people who feel that the individual or small collective is much better placed to make important decisions about things that happen within their own neighbourhood.
It is well documented that the UK has a shortage of well-constructed and affordable housing. Neighbourhood Planning was part of the Localism Bill introduced in 2011 by the British Government. It passes responsibility for important decisions about the development of the built environment from the centralised government to the local community.
This should, in theory be a very good thing. The community is much better positioned to understand the needs and capability of their environment. Neighbourhood Planning certainly enables communities to play a much stronger role in shaping the areas in which they live and work. It provides an opportunity for communities to set out a vision for how they want their community to develop in ways that meet identified local need and make sense for local people. However, there is the danger of well-meaning, but ill-informed individuals making decisions that have massive implications for the community.
Continuity in Architecture, a studio for research, practice and teaching at the Manchester School of Architecture have been working directly with the local communities to develop meaningful and productive proposals for the development of the built environment. This paper will examine the evolution of Neighbourhood Planning, then discuss the projects that the studio have been involved with before offering some thoughts for the development of future initiatives.