Helen Phillips, Natural England’s Chief Executive, said: “By containing urban sprawl, the Green Belt has been a great success story of post-war planning. We need to look at ways in which it can expand on its success to date and play a full role in supporting England’s wider network of protected areas and open spaces. The Green Belt is an important environmental resource that, managed effectively, can help tackle climate change, support wildlife and provide health and leisure opportunities for millions to enjoy.”

Shaun Spiers, Chief Executive of CPRE, said: “This report confirms that the countryside around our largest and most historic towns and cities is a vital, but fragile, environmental asset. We must continue to strengthen our Green Belts and make full use of the opportunities they provide to allow people to appreciate their local countryside. Where Green Belt land is underused, or in poor condition, the answer is to improve its quality, not to build on it.”

30 million people live in or next to Green Belts which cover 13% of the land surface of England.

Download website for  Summary and Full Report of Green Belts: a Greener Future

[SOURCE: Natural England]

Also published today is a circular updating guidance on the criteria and processes when developers are required to make a contribution to the provision of local infrastructure, where a development would create additional infrastructure demands.

Go here to download the new planning policy (PDF)

Go here to download the circular (PDF)

[SOURCE: Scottish Government]

The article stimulated a few ideas I have had during my career. I find that funding of new or redevelopment of parks is a often a fine line between private and public funding, which often blurs the line between public and private space. Private funding often causing issues with residents because of naming or commercial activities in the new park that create a private area.

An ever-growing trend for cities around the world is to justify the cost of construction and maintenance of parks through inclusion of private funding or commercial activities such as paid parking garages, retail shops, restaurants, or areas that are commercialised for entertainment(concerts, festivals, etc). How to strike a balance between private and public funding is very complicated process for each city and requires research and consultation.

Many cities find it hard to redevelop parks with the use of public money as it is often controversial as parks are sometimes seen by residents as non-essential. Residents see hospitals, schools, and police as essential services within the community whereas parks are seen as non-essential and that public monies would be better spent on other services. To avoid this cities seek private funding in return for naming rights or a commercial development on or near the  park. Now the question is how far to go with private funding and how much is the park compromised by accepting the funding in return for naming right or commercial development?

This issue of public and private funding will become more and more prevalent around the world as developers of retail and residential developments blur the line between public and private space by creating spaces in developments that are town squares and parks that can be accessed by the public. This blurring will cause some confusion with city residents as to what is public space and what is private. It also raises the question – Are developers going to develop parks and maintain them or will it always remain the domain of the local government?

Private development of public parks as apart of residential developments or commercial developments, which are then handed to government after certain period is already occurring in some parts of the world. Will this become a growing trend across cities for small and large parks? Or will it remain only in residential developments?

By Damian Holmes

In her new position she wishes for students and staff to engage more with the architectural community.

[SOURCE: Calgary Herald - New dean passionate about architecture]

Nuszer Kopatz, founded in 1991 by Mark Nuszer and Mark Kopatz, is a land planning, landscape architecture and community visioning firm. The capability brought by Nuszer Kopatz employees broadens Stanley Consultants’ portfolio of land development services.

“Until now our work has been focused regionally, so we’re excited about the opportunities this presents,” said Kopatz.  ”It will still be business as usual for our existing clients.  They’ll get the same personal attention but now have access to global resources.  We’re looking forward to expanding our reach nationally and internationally.”

The Nuszer Kopatz staff will relocate from its current Denver office to Stanley Consultants’ Denver office.

[SOURCE: PRNewswire]

With the Obama administration’s budget proposal this week for $2.4 billion in energy efficiency and renewable energy programs—and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ prediction of a 30 percent growth over the next decade in top green jobs such as mechanical engineer, environmental engineer, environmental educator, and landscape architect—the demand is growing among professionals for more green industry education.

The UC Berkeley Extension sustainability courses approved by USGBC are designed to meet that growing demand. They include advanced courses in solar, sustainable construction, renewable energy, transportation, clean technology, and sustainability leadership and management. All USGBC-approved courses are rigorously peer-reviewed and approved for credit toward LEED Professional Credentialing Maintenance.

UC Berkeley Extension’s Sustainability Studies program includes more than 60 courses for professionals in emerging green industries. The program emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach to sustainability in a broad range of important areas including green building design and construction, LEED, solar and renewable energy, climate change and land use planning, and clean technologies. This spring, UC Berkeley Extension offers several new sustainability studies courses, as well as two new specialized programs of study: Leadership in Sustainability and Environmental Management and Solar Energy and Green Building.

[SOURCE: PRnewswire]

Industrial-sized dumpsters, mini skips, a shipping container and exotic aquatic weeds are the four key elements in the exhibition garden being designed by Christchurch-based international designer Craig Pocock for this year’s Ellerslie International Flower Show.

“As landscape architects, we should be aiming to create landscapes with longevity that will survive changing demographics, community growth and fashion trends. Our landscapes need to be timeless designs that serve a community well for decades to make the most of the embodied energy costs that comes with creating and maintaining a landscape, especially our urban spaces”.

Read the full article at the [SOURCE: Voxy.co.nz - Water Oasis In An Industrial Setting]

The goal of this international competition is to generate buildable designs for a storage shed and outdoor common space for a new community garden that will showcase sustainable building strategies and materials. The winning design will be built by a team of volunteers over the summer of 2010.

For more information go to the competition website

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The current design of swirling green benches designed by Martha Schwartz will be removed and replaced by magnolia trees, low evergreen plantings, marble benches and  a fountain designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA).

The Tribeca Trib recently reported  about  Matthew Urbanski’s (a principal with MVVA) presentation of the new design to Community Board 1’s Seaport/Civic Center Committee.

Much of the design, Urbanski said,  was influenced by the “microclimate” of the plaza, which receives too much sun in the summer and too little in the winter, plus a wind tunnel effect along Worth Street. The magnolia trees are positioned at the northern end of the plaza where they can provide shade and some shielding from winter winds.

To read and see more about the new plaza design go to the [SOURCE: Tribeca Trib - Yet Another Look in Store for Federal Plaza]

The CityArchRiver 2015 Foundation made the announcement following the Jan. 28 deadline for competitors to identify a lead designer and submit a team portfolio for the competition, “Framing a Modern Masterpiece: The City + The Arch + The River 2015.”

Next week, the competition jury will gather for the first time in St. Louis to review the portfolios. An announcement of portfolio review results, including an invitation to eight to 10 entrants to assemble complete teams for the next stage of competition, is expected Feb. 10. The competition, which was launched Dec. 8, 2009, will have three stages in all.

A networking event will take place Feb. 18, 2010, at the Old Courthouse in St. Louis. (Note: This is an earlier date than listed previously). Local contractors, minority, disadvantaged, and women-owned businesses, and others will be invited to the event to meet with short-listed design teams to discuss the chance of partnering on the project.

Upcoming public events include a ‘meet the designers night’ in late April and a public exhibition of the designs this summer.

“I look forward to gathering with the jury next week to start its critical work on this competition,” said Donald Stastny, chief executive officer of StastnyBrun Architects in Portland, Ore. and manager of the competition. “We’re pleased by the level of interest we’ve received from very talented individuals and firms.”

“We anticipated great interest in this competition and we were right,” said Walter Metcalfe, a member of the competition’s governance group. “The truly global nature of this competition is testament to Saarinen’s masterpiece, the Mississippi River, St. Louis, and the opportunity to weave it all together.”

“Great design minds throughout the world were challenged to share their vision and imagination with us and they are willing to do so,” said Metcalfe. “I’m already looking forward to the ribbon cutting on October 28, 2015 – the 50th anniversary of the completion of the Arch.”

Teams selected during the competition will develop designs that create an iconic setting for the international icon, the Gateway Arch, honoring its immediate surroundings and weaving connections and transitions from the city and the Arch grounds to the Mississippi River, including the east bank in Illinois.

Approximately 100 architects, designers, community leaders, media representatives and members of the public attended the competition’s pre-submittal meeting Jan. 13, which included a briefing and tour of the site.

The new design is called for in the National Park Service’s General Management Plan, which was developed with extensive public input over an 18-month period and approved Nov.23, 2009.

The competition is governed by the CityArchRiver 2015 Foundation, which includes Metcalfe, as well as Park Superintendent Tom Bradley, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, community leaders from Missouri and Illinois, academics, architects, and national park advocates.

Financial contributions to the CityArchRiver 2015 Foundation are being handled by the Greater St. Louis Community Foundation, a public charity with more than $140 million in charitable assets and representing more than 350 individual funds.

Donors to the competition include: Emerson , Gateway Center of Metropolitan St. Louis (Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park), Peter Fischer, Emily Rauh Pulitzer, Civic Progress, Wachovia Wells Fargo Foundation, Danforth Foundation, John F. McDonnell, Bryan Cave LLP, Greater St. Louis Community Foundation, National Park Foundation, Monsanto, Alison and John Ferring, Bank of America, David C. Farrell and donors who choose to remain anonymous.