In 1996, Unicef launched one of the first initiatives to promote a child-friendly approach to urban design – the Child Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI). Since then, interest in the design and development of ‘child-friendly cities’ has grown significantly. In the […]
After months of anticipation, the Scottish Government has finally introduced the Scottish Planning Bill into Parliament this week. The need for reform was originally explored in 2015’s independent review (resulting in the report ‘Empowering planning to deliver great places‘) so […]
By Steven McGinty Drones are becoming an increasingly observable feature of modern cities, from tech enthusiasts flying drones in local parks to engineers using them to monitor air pollution. And there have also been some high profile commercial trials such […]
By 2050, it is estimated that nearly 70% of the world’s population will live in urban areas. In the UK, this figure is expected to be closer to 90%. This demographic shift, along with population growth in general, means that […]
As the recent Scottish Planning and Environmental Law conference showed, there are a number of external pressures affecting the planning system at the moment. These include the uncertainty around Brexit, the drive to achieve energy targets, and demographic changes impacting […]
In September, the Idox Information Service moved into our new home. Along with our colleagues in the wider Idox Group, we relocated from the Scottish Legal Life Assurance Building in Glasgow’s Bothwell Street to the Grosvenor Building in Gordon Street, […]
Housing is one of the challenges of our time. The task for architects and designers is to create affordable, robust housing that can accommodate the needs of a rapidly growing, but also ageing population. And it’s not as easy as […]
The UK has had its fair share of landmark construction projects that struggled to reach their completion targets and suffered from soaring costs. Wembley Stadium, Edinburgh’s tram network, and the Scottish Parliament are just some examples of major projects affected […]
By Steven McGinty “If regeneration has been so successful, why are there still so many pilots?” This was just one of the many thought-provoking points raised at the Scottish Urban Regeneration Forum’s (SURF) 25th Anniversary Conference, where the very activity […]
This year’s Scottish Planning and Environmental Law conference, held in Edinburgh’s COSLA building, focused on Anticipating and preparing for change and covered a range of topics from the impact of Brexit on planning and environmental law in Scotland to how […]
