“Cul de sac layouts may be the opium of the unwary – seemingly an analgesic against high-density urbanism – but beware the risks of over-indulgence”.
Steve Morgan, founder of housebuilder Redrow, attacks high-density urbanism in today’s Building Design. He says:
“Build cul de sacs because that’s how people want to live”.
This reminds me of some other things I’ve heard:
“Give them salty food because they enjoy the taste.”
“Let them smoke ciggies because it keeps them calm.”
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Tim Stonor, Managing Director, Space Syntax
“The population of the world is increasing and, as it increases, more and more of us are living in cities. As cities have grown in the 20th century they have often grown to disconnect people.
Space Syntax has discovered that many of these problems in cities – disconnection, lack of contact between people, lack of access to jobs – come down to the way in which the city is planned as a layout of space.”
Ronan Faherty, Commercial Director, Land Securities
“As a developer, the most important thing for us is understanding the consumer and anything that assesses the consumer and helps us understand them provides real value. When you’re putting down a new property into an existing space we want to understand where consumers are coming from and then how they should engage with the property: where we should put escalation and movement and flows. (more…)
At a conference where almost every speaker has been concerned about the delay of getting academic research into practice. One proposed solution is open access. No doubt there are other ideas.
The problem is that the research-into-practice paradigm is wrong.
The way to handle practice is not to see it as the receiver of new knowledge but to involve it in the production of new knowledge. In other words to “co-create”.
Won’t this be a burden on practices? Not if the research takes place as part of the project. Not if there’s a culture of working this way.
This is not an academic proposal. This is the way we operate at Space Syntax. We know it works.
London, 11th October 2011
Tim Stonor
Opportunities & barriers
Intro
Space Syntax Limited an SME working in the Creative Industries, specifically architecture and urban planning. A consulting company.
Engaging in projects from high value real estate developments in the City of London to the regeneration of slum settlements. Outside urban space & inside building space. Dealing with issues of movement & interaction and how these influence value: social, economic & environmental.
Specifically, engaging with the EPSRC in its key knowledge domains of:
Global uncertainties
Climate change
Energy
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Tim Stonor 