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Crispin Tickell, adviser to the Chinese government on environmental issues, argues that city neighborhoods should reduce dependence on cars. He sees a good school, low crime rates and a good community as important in selecting where to live. Inner city regions of London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, England are again becoming popular and real estate prices are rising. The United Kingdom government is seeking to recycle existing sites rather than allow excessive amounts of greenfield land to be used for housing. Tickell would like the target for recycled land increased.

Environmental activists in West Hertfordshire, UK, are angry that the Labour government is not opposing plans for the construction of 1,000 houses on rural land near Stevenage. The West Hertfordshire District Council, controlled by Labour, is against the plans which have been approved by the county council, controlled by Labour and the Liberal Democrats. The conflict in the area is mirrored elsewhere and could be a problem for the government.

There is a need for new homes in the UK and concern about the environmental impact of building such homes. An estimated 4.4 million homes are needed, but the UK population is not forecast to grow by more than 2 million people. More people are likely to live alone. The estimate for new households may be exaggerated if children stay longer with their parents, marriage and cohabitation become more popular, and workers share homes. A larger proportion of homes are being built on brownfield sites, and there is enough land available to build the new homes needed.

Issues related to urban and building design in Britain are examined in detail.

Ebenezer Howard influenced city planning in the United Kingdom with his ideas on garden cities. The Town and Country Planning Act of 1947 was influenced by his work. He saw the need for a marriage between twon and country to provide beauty in an urban setting. The countryside symbolises beauty. The first example of a garden city was Letchworth, and Welwyn Garden City followed. Garden suburbs, which lacked industry, were a different phenomenon, and their development opened a rift in the garden city movement.

Local protests can delay planning permission in the United Kingdom, and have resulted in better designs which housebuilders can sell for more money. Builder protest that planning decisions are inconsistent and the demands for provision of social housing and other amenities in exchange for planning permission is almost corrupt. There have been suggestions that permission for brownfield sites should be decided more rapidly and this could help the public interest as well as being more acceptable in political terms.

Sep 10 1998 sees the opening of the UK's latest out-of-town shopping centre, but there is continuing controversy over such centres. The 600 million pounds sterling Trafford Centre near Manchester was one of the last to be approved before the government tightened planning rules. By summer 1998, the UK will have eight regional out-of-town shopping centres. However, critics say the malls cause traffic pollution and take trade away from smaller town centres. Some of the older out-of-town centres now want to be re-designated as town centres in order to get round planning restrictions.

Recycled land is being used for a number of United Kingdom residential housing developments. Standard homes on greenfield sites do not retain value as well as many other types of homes. Peninsula Barracks is an example of recycling in Winchester, Englnd, and includes a large formal garden. ong working hours mean that urban locations are more popular for buyers not wishing to waste time commuting. Local government may be reluctant to allow change of use, but there is a great deal of office space which could be converted into homes.

Local residents in Ludlow, England, have expressed strong opposition to plans to construct six homes in Midland red brick near the town's famous yellow limestone castle. The district council has agreed that the development will not go ahead as long as those opposed to it can match the 150,000 pounds sterling which it believes the site is worth. The Guild '98 opposition group has so far raised 23,000 pounds sterling. This group believes that unrestricted development threatens to remove the heart from this attractive town.

There is a need for 4.4 million new homes in the United Kingdom by 2016, and this estimate has led to pressure from developers seeking to build in rural areas. One such area is Micheldever Station, near Andover, England. Critics argue that the figure of 4.4 million is only a guess, and the government has decided that housebuilding should be focused on brownfield sites. Supporters of building in rural areas argue that development is better if it is planned, and good planning will eliminate many problems.

More cafes and pbs are being set up in urban centers in the United Kingdom. Urban centers changed in the 1980s when national chains took over from traditional stores such as butchers. Many stores from national chains have since been relocated out of town, and local authorities are more likely to grant permission to pubs and cafes. Close circuit television means that it is easier to police urban centers. The increase in numbers of students, used for part-time labor in these establishments, and customers of cafes and pubs, has also had an impact, as has the increase in part time work in general in the UK.

The United Kingdom government has to tackle planning decisions which will be a test of its environmental policies. Local government is seeking to find sites for new homes and there is pressure on areas designated as part of the green belt. The estimate of 4.4 million new homes needed by 2016 has been challenged by the Council for the Protection of Rural England's assistant director, Tony Burton. He argues that single people do not live alone as much as assumed in the estimate.

There is an estimated need for 4.4 million new homes in England, but this figure has been challenged. A million homes have already been constructed for the period 1991 to 2016, and the estimate for a further 3.4 million assumes that the number of single men will continue to rise, which may not be true. Immigration levels may not be as high as estimated. Change of use can provide sites for new homes, and traffic congestion can be eased by siting developments near railroads or other forms of transportation.

Naming streets and buildings is best carried out using rural traditions. US place names may depend on wishful thinking, such as calling a settlement Paradise. Naming places should be taken more seriously and is not often carried out with enough thought in suburban locations. Local government could intervene more often, and historical names should be used where possible. Old street names provide us with information, and care should be taken to ensure that new names also carry information to the future.

The United Kingdom government has given permission for an electronics plant to be built on a greenfield site in the green belt north of Birmingham, England. The 1.5 billion pounds sterling semiconductor plant could create 4,800 jobs. The company involved could be Philips. Nearby residents oppose the plant, but the government argues that Birmingham needs investment in high-technology. The industry in the area tends to be metal-based manufacturing such as automobile production.

The Internet has been seen as a way for people to work in rural areas, but it is likely to be linked to a greater concentration of work in major cities. Computers and telecommunications complement face-to-face interaction rather than replacing it. This could help the development of cities in the United Kingdom outside London. The UK has a high concentration of government and population in London, in contrast to the US and other European countries such as France.

UK local authorities believe that government proposals to increase the proportion of new homes built on 'brown field sites', that is previously developed land, is not realistic. The government wants 60% of the 4.4 million new homes required by 2016 to be built on brown land. However, a report by the Town and County Planning Assn says that many of the best brown field sites have already been developed, while others are unsuitable because of location, poor access or contamination. The report estimates that brown land will only make up 30-40% of housing development.

Plans for a 100 million pounds sterling extension of the Merry Hill shopping centre in Dudley, England, are seen by many as a test of the UK government's planning policy which is aimed at protecting existing town centres. Policy has now turned against huge shopping centres, which are said to generate more traffic and win trade at the expense of established town centres. However, Merry Hill differs from other out-of-town shopping centres in that it is surrounded by industrial units, offices and houses, rather than being in a greenfield site. Some believe this almost makes it a town centre.

The UK property industry is uneasy about the government's U-turn on planning policy, since the new policy contains many basic inconsistencies. The government has now turned its back on developments such as greenfield shopping centres, which depend on car usage. Instead, the new policy advice is for development to be pushed back into towns where it should be linked to public transport. However, businesses are unwilling to choose a town centre location unless there is parking provision, especially given the lack of government commitment to public transport.

UK developers of business parks must now adapt projects to meet tighter government planning regulations. The boom in business parks during the 1980s was partly due to moves to deregulate planning. Now however, the mood has turned against out-of-town developments as the government seeks to revitalise town centres. Developers will now only obtain approval for out-of-town business parks if they can demonstrate there is no suitable site within the town centre or indeed on the edge of towns.

Property professionals have broadly welcomed UK environment secretary John Gummer's draft Policy Planning Guidelines No 6 (PPG6). The aim of PPG6 is to limit the threat that out-of-town shopping developments hold for UK towns and cities. However, those in the industry are pleased at the moderate tone of the guidelines: Gummer does not oppose out-of-town retail centres per se, but wants to restore the balance in town centre life. The latest draft of PPG6 says that the preferred site for a big retail centre must be the town centre if there is a 'suitable' and 'available' site.

The UK government has shifted its planning policy away from out-of-town shopping in a bid to revive town centres, but the changes will not bring a halt to shopping-centre development. Many out-of-town projects had already obtained planning permission before the new planning guidelines were published in July, 1993: this applies to around 400 retail developments of a total 26 million sq ft. It also appears that the new guidelines are being applied more strictly to retail warehouses and superstores than to shopping centres.

The UK secretary of state for the environment, John Gummer, is seeking to promote urban centers and mixed usage of land at different times of the day. UK road building policies in the 1980s led to a favorable environment for out-of-town shopping centers. Public transport was ignored, and there is a need for improvements in public transport if inner cities are to be revived. There is also a need for improved housing, more trees and gardens and a reduction in pollution levels.

The UK retailing scene was dramatically changed with the development of six extremely large out-of-town shopping centres in the 1980s. Out-of-town retailing now accounts for 25% of retail sales, and this trend appears to be continuing. However, environment secretary John Gummer is now taking a stricter line on giving permission for such developments, and the government is hoping to revive and redevelop town centres instead. This may force retailers to change their strategies once more, moving away from concentrating on out-of-town developments.

The UK government needs to improve the coordination of its transport and planning policies, as is shown by the confusion over out-of-town development. Environment minister John Gummer has spoken of discouraging development on green-field locations at the edge of cities, but this contrasts both with the Dept of Environment's long policy of backing out-of-town projects, and with the attitude of the Dept of Transport and the Dept of Trade & Industry. This inconsistent approach makes it more difficult for the government to attract private-sector funding for public transport schemes.