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The Golden Mile: Transforming the polluted and noisy corridor into place to walk, cycle and paddle

Hounslow council intends to “humanise” the area, transforming it from a place people travel through into a walkable destination. Kimberley France visits during a heatwave and discovers emerging pockets of liveability

Rights of Nature movement builds as Lewes is the first town to recognise the Rights of Trees

The approved motion is the latest in a wider movement towards legal protection for rivers and nature with aims to influence planning and policy

Circular construction could be positive tipping point according to climate research

New report says cutting the waste and material reuse in construction — the largest single waste stream – and policy for material reuse could cascade and help push planet onto new climate trajectory, Kimberley France writes

Entries open for The Pineapples awards for place 2027

The Pineapples have launched their call for entries for placemaking and place-led initiatives that make a positive social, environmental and economic impact across 17 categories

Link up: Youth centres are opening across the country from Carlisle to Croydon

By 2027, charity OnSide is set to have opened 22 Youth Zones. Kimberley France visits the latest one in Preston, with photography by Gareth Gardner

Planning should value genuine testimony over AI-generated responses in public consultation

Best practice guide calls for government planning reform to modernise engagement methods to ensure a more representative understanding of what communities think, Christine Murray reports

What does Peter Apps’ cash-for-journalism sting video reveal about the relationship between PRs and reporters?

Award-winning journalist Peter Apps blew the whistle after being offered £500 to pitch an article to a national newspaper. Isolated case or tip of the iceberg? Christine Murray

Throw shade: 96% of UK cities have less tree cover than average European city

Guildford, Hastings and Greater Manchester have the most tree cover with London ranking 565th for tree cover out of 767 cities. Christine Murray reports

opportunities

London Borough of Hounslow seeks developer investor partner for Convent Way Estate regeneration

Hounslow are seeking soft market feedback on procurement for upcoming 15-year residential masterplan [Deadline 25 September 2026]

Rotherham seeks strategic development partner for 21st century garden community at Bassingthorpe Farm

The 187-hectare site is earmarked for 2,000 new homes adjacent to Rotherham Town Centre [Deadline 28 October 2026]

West Oxfordshire District Council seek designs for new wayfinding signage in Witney

The project will deliver a comprehensive wayfinding strategy for the town centre [Deadline 14 September]

Lymington and Pennington Town Council seek integrated architectural, engineering and cost consultancy teams for Lymington Sea Water Baths Restoration Project

Phase 1 of the project to restore the Grade-II listed baths has been funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund [Deadline 7 September]

HS2 seek professional services to support delivery of the High Speed 2 rail line

Following the programme reset, procurement is anticipated to take place from April 2027

The Department for Communities seeks feedback from developers on redevelopment of Downpatrick Town Centre

The authority hopes to attract high-quality development proposals for the town centre site [Engagement deadline 17 September]

more opportunities

Search the Place Database for key information on UK places undergoing development

podcasts

Homesick: What happens when London's affordability crisis meets the climate crisis?

Journalist Peter Apps discusses the changing demographics of the capital and how the lack of ...

Participatory building: How community construction takes engagement to a new level

Working in collaboration with charity Global Generation, Jan Kattein Architects has been building ...

Neuroarchitecture: Design for the unconscious mind

Professor Nick Tyler discusses his experiments at UCL’s PEARL laboratory uncovering the hidden ...

Design by AI: Why we need to hack the algorithm

Amid dystopian predictions, the fact that AI tends towards the typical, standard and normative ...

If we want to create inclusive, supportive and safe places, we can't ignore trauma

Olaide Oboh, director of mixed-use developer Socius, speaks about trauma-informed practice and why ...

Purple pounds: Designing for the deaf and disabled

Disability urban strategist Amanprit Arnold speaks about the growing role of technology in ...

more podcasts

films

Family journeys to school: "It's life or death sometimes"

A home to die for? We can do better

"There's a real outdoor community. Everyone joins up and plays"

placetests

Placetest: Brighton’s high streets

What is it like to live here – to be part of its history and its future? Anthropologist Dr Muriel ...

Placetest: Park Hill, Sheffield

What is it like to live here – to be part of its history and its future? Anthropologist Dr Muriel ...

Placetest: Folkestone

Investment in the arts, town and Harbour Arm has spearheaded the regeneration of this coastal town ...

Placetest: Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Anthropologist Caroline Bennett speaks to locals with photography by John Sturrock

Placetest: New Poundbury

Its Royal patron makes Poundbury the focus of much attention, and the development is not even ...

Placetest: Nine Elms

What is the experience of this nascent place and its people? Anthropologist Caroline Bennett visits ...

Placetest: Liverpool One

In this exclusive placetest, anthropologist Rebecca Toop explores the user experience of ...

Placetest: King's Crescent Estate

Placetest King’s Crescent Estate: A part-demolished estate in Stoke Newington is enjoying an ...

Placetest: MediaCityUK

Placetest MediaCityUK: What is it like to live and work in Peel’s MediaCityUK and has it brought ...

Placetest: King’s Cross

Placetest King’s Cross: How does it work, who is there – and who isn’t? How does the masterplan ...

talks & events

Designing for legacy: “Place is not something that's delivered at completion, it's already there”

Experts say collaboration and being proactive in your design key to the longevity of a place

Building archaeology: “When used well, it can actively contribute to better places and better placemaking"

Speakers at Festival of Place Bytesize say the benefits of historic fabric are often overlooked; ...

“Don’t treat soils like dirt” say experts highlighting waste on construction sites

In one teaspoon of soil, there are more living organisms than people on the planet and yet we ...

A brand-new seafront for less than a footballer’s wages

It’s not an easy task to stretch the flood defence grants but with an integrated team, you can get ...

Rain gardens: “It's not just an engineering solution. It's also landscape. It’s biodiversity”

If the street is going to be dug up, then you should get as many positives out of the disruption as ...

Passivhaus social housing: “They don't have to choose between heating and eating”

The health and economic benefits of Passivhaus make it worth the increase in quality control and ...

view all talks and events

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