The Urban Design Decision-Making Process

This tool demonstrates a new way of thinking about urban design decision-making by diagrammatically representing how an urban development project evolves, from an idea through to the implementation of a design. Critical to this new process is the incorporation of sustainability at each stage of the process. Below you will find a chronological explanation of each stage in the process.

To download a PDF file about this process in detail, click here. (pdf document, 1.4MB)

To view VivaCity Tools and Resources in order of stages in this process, click here.

The Decision-Making Stages

1. Need / Opportunity Identification - An individual or team identifies a need or an opportunity for an urban development project.
2. Create Sustainability Agenda - The Project Sustainability Group creates the Sustainability Agenda from knowledge, information and recorded decisions in the legacy archive or in relation to historical and current factors. The Group first outlines sustainability issues believed to be important to the urban development project context and then prioritises the issues. The Development Team may also help to inform the Sustainability Agenda by using various tools to examine sustainability within the urban development project, including consultation with stakeholders who will be impacted by the urban development project.
3. Exploration - A Development Team is formed to explore the urban development project from all perspectives. A Project Sustainability Group is also formed.
4. Revisit Create Sustainability Agenda
5. Agree on Sustainability Agenda - Before the Development Team begins designing and developing their plans for an urban development project, they must agree on the Sustainability Agenda with the Project Sustainability Group.
6. Develop Sustainability Advice and Make Trade-Offs -  Here, planners are able to turn to the Sustainability Resources developed throughout our project for guidelines and information in order to create the most sustainable urban environment possible. The Project Sustainability Group and the Development Team develop Sustainability Advice from an ongoing series of trade-off discussions as part of pre-planning application meetings. Both teams give and seek advice regarding the sustainability of the urban development project, explaining and negotiating sustainability trade-offs where necessary. Recourse to Sustainability Resources, techniques and knowledge is taken at this point. As a result of the trade-off discussions, revisions will be made to the prioritisation of sustainability issues and the revised Sustainability Agenda will be presented at the Sustainability Review.
7. Design and Development - This stage corresponds to traditional Design and Construction management processes. This stage allows the Development Team to begin designing the urban development plan and consider design and development issues relating to sustainability.
8. Revisit Develop Sustainability Advice and Make Trade-Offs
9. Assess and Agree Revised Sustainability Agenda - The Project Sustainability Group discusses and agrees the re-prioritisation of the Sustainability Agenda with the Development Team. This ensures that both teams are kept informed of the role of sustainability in the project. The Group also agrees on the preliminary designs created by the Development Team.
10. Provide Sustainability Performance Advice- The Project Sustainability Group and the Development Team elicit and provide Sustainability Performance Advice as part of pre-planning application meetings. This task gives both teams the opportunity to discuss the proposed performance of the urban development project design and give initial feedback before the formal performance assessment occurs at the Sustainability Review.
11. Detailed Design - This stage corresponds to traditional Design and Construction management processes. Here the Development Team progresses in more detail with the designs of the urban development plan, offering an in-depth understanding of design and development issues relating to sustainability.
12. Revisit Provide Sustainability Performance Advice
13. Agree on Sustainability Performance - The Project Sustainability Group assesses the performance of the detailed design against the Sustainability Agenda. Compliance between the design and the Sustainability Agenda means the Development Team can submit their plan for planning approval. Non-compliance means the two teams will have to continue negotiating the sustainability trade-offs.
14. Develop Strategy for Sustainability Monitoring - Once the urban development project has been built, the Project Sustainability Group and the Development Team will agree on a Strategy for Sustainability Monitoring. The strategy may include a timeline, budgets and sustainability statements required for the lifetime of the development.
15. Detailed Design Implementation - This stage corresponds to traditional Design and Construction management processes. Once planning permission has been sought, this stage allows for the urban development project to be built via the construction process.
16. Revisit Develop Strategy for Sustainability Monitoring
17. Assess and Agree on Strategy for Sustainability Monitoring - The Strategy for Sustainability Monitoring is reviewed and assessed to ensure that whoever is assuming the curatorial role is able to manage and maintain the urban development project in the short- and long-term. The legacy archive and the Project Sustainability Reviews will be used to guide the assessment.

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 © Images Copyright Andrew Wooton 2008