GLOSSARY
This glossary, based on By Design (ODPM, 2000) is intended to provide general guidance, not authoritative definitions of terms which are sometimes controversial or used with different meanings in different contexts.
The ability of people to move round an area and to reach places and facilities, including elderly and disabled people, those with young children and those encumbered with luggage or shopping.
Provided by a building or other feature whose use is directly accessible from the street or space which it faces; the opposite effect to a blank wall.
Street or streets along which activity is concentrated.
Concentration of activity at a particular point.
The capacity of a building or space to be changed so as to respond to changing social, technological and economic conditions.
This guide refers to site-specific briefs as development briefs. Site-specific briefs are also called a variety of other names, including design briefs, planning briefs and development frameworks.
Doors, windows, cornices and other features which contribute to the overall design of a building.
Diagram(s) with dimensions showing the possible site and massing of a building.
The line formed by the frontages of buildings along a street. The building line can be shown on a plan or section.
The combined effect of the arrangement, volume and shape of a building or group of buildings. Also called massing.
An area appraisal identifying distinguishing physical features and emphasising historical and cultural associations.
Conservation area character appraisal
A published document defining the special architectural or historic interest which warranted the area being designated.
The setting of a site or area, including factors such as traffic, activities and land uses as well as landscape and built form.
Context (or site and area) appraisal
A detailed analysis of the features of a site or area (including land uses, built and natural environment, and social and physical characteristics) which serves as the basis for an urban design framework, development brief, design guide or other policy or guidance.
Public and semi-public space that is 'defensible' in the sense that it is surveyed, demarcated or maintained by somebody. Defensible space is also dependent upon the existence of escape routes and the level of anonymity which can be anticipated by the users of the space.
The floorspace of a building or buildings or some other unit measure in relation to a given area of land. Built density can be expressed in terms of plot ratio (for commercial development); number of units or habitable rooms per hectare (for residential development); site coverage plus the number of floors or a maximum building height; or a combination of these.
A document providing guidance on how development can be carried out in accordance with the design policies of a local authority or other organisation often with a view to retaining local distinctiveness.
An expression of one of the basic design ideas at the heart of an urban design framework, design guide, development brief or a development.
Specific, usually quantifiable measures of amenity and safety in residential areas.
A design statement sets out the design principles and solution that the planning applicant has adopted in relation to the site and its wider context, as required by PPG1 and the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.
An imaginary line linking facilities or places which people would find it convenient to travel between easily.
A document, prepared by a local planning authority, a developer, or jointly, providing guidance on how a site of significant size or sensitivity should be developed. Site-specific briefs are sometimes known as planning briefs, design briefs and development frameworks.
The layout (structure and urban grain), density, scale (height and massing), appearance (materials and details) and landscape of development.
The facade of a building, or the drawing of a facade.
The use of buildings to create a sense of defined space.
The extent to which the use of energy is reduced through the way in which buildings are constructed and arranged on site.
The viability of development in relation to economic and market conditions.
The arrangement of windows on a facade.
Figure and ground (or figure/ground, or Nolli) diagram
A plan showing the relationship between built form and publicly accessible space (including streets) by presenting the former in black and the latter as a white background (or the other way round).
See 'urban grain'.
Height
The height of a building can be expressed in terms of a maximum number of floors; a maximum height of parapet or ridge; a maximum overall height; any of these maximum heights in combination with a maximum number of floors; a ratio of building height to street or space width; height relative to particular landmarks or background buildings; or strategic views.
The use within development of elements which relate well in size to an individual human being and their assembly in a way which makes people feel comfortable rather than overwhelmed.
Parking within a building's site boundary, rather than on a public street or space.
A drawing of building forms and spaces which is intended to convey the basic elements of a possible design.
A building or structure that stands out from its background by virtue of height, size or some other aspect of design.
The character and appearance of land, including its shape, form, ecology, natural features, colours and elements and the way these components combine. In towns 'townscape' describes the same concept.
The way buildings, routes and open spaces are placed in relation to each other.
The degree to which a place can be easily understood and traversed.
The positive features of a place and its communities which contribute to its special character and sense of place.
The combined effect of the height, bulk and silhouette of a building or group of buildings.
A mix of uses within a building, on a site or within a particular area. 'Horizontal' mixed uses are side by side, usually in different buildings. 'Vertical' mixed uses are on different floors of the same building.
People and vehicles going to and passing through buildings, places and spaces. The movement network can be shown on plans, by space syntax analysis, by highway designations, by figure and ground diagrams, through data on origins and destinations or pedestrian flows, by desire lines, by details of public transport services, by walk bands or by details of cycle routes.
The discouragement to wrong-doing by the presence of passers-by or the ability of people to be seen out of surrounding windows. Also known as passive surveillance (or supervision).
A place where activity and routes are concentrated often used as a synonym for junction.
The degree to which an area has a variety of pleasant, convenient and safe routes through it.
Illustration showing the view from a particular point as it would be seen by the human eye.
This guide refers to site-specific briefs as development briefs. Other names, including planning briefs, design briefs and development frameworks are also used.
A participation technique (pioneered by the Neighbourhood Initiatives Foundation) that involves residents and others with an interest coming together to make a model of their area and using it to help them determine their priorities for the future.
Planning Policy Guidance notes (PPGs)
Documents embodying Government guidance on general and specific aspects of planning policy to be taken into account in formulating development plan policies and in making planning decisions.
A measurement of density generally expressed as gross floor area divided by the net site area.
Any process by which a local authority works with potential planning applicants to improve the quality of development proposals as early as possible before a planning application is submitted.
Permanent or temporary physical works of art visible to the general public, whether part of the building or free-standing: can include sculpture, lighting effects, street furniture, paving, railings and signs.
The point at which public areas and buildings meet private ones.
The parts of a village, town or city (whether publicly or privately owned) that are available, without charge, for everyone to use or see, including streets, squares and parks. Also called public realm.
The impression of a building when seen in relation to its surroundings, or the size of parts of a building or its details, particularly as experienced in relation to the size of a person. Sometimes it is the total dimensions of a building which give it its sense of scale: at other times it is the size of the elements and the way they are combined. The concept is a difficult and ambiguous one: often the word is used simply as a synonym for 'size'.
Drawing showing a slice through a building or site.
Structures in and adjacent to the highway which contribute to the street scene, such as bus shelters, litter bins, seating, lighting, railings and signs.
The discouragement to wrong-doing by the presence of passers-by or the ability of people to be seen from surrounding windows.
Defined by the Brundtland Commission (1987, and quoted in PPG1) as 'Development which meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to achieve their own needs and aspirations'. The UK's strategy for sustainable development "A better quality of life" was published in May 1999 and highlights the need for environmental improvement, social justice and economic success to go hand-in-hand.
Comparison of scale and layout of different settlements. This technique makes use of overprinting or tracing maps of successful places over the proposed development site or area, at the same scale. Its gives the designer a clue to the capacity of a place and how it may be structured.
A description or representation of artificial or natural features on or of the ground.
The visual qualities of a view, and the principles of layout that achieve those qualities. It is concerned with context and how each individual development is made to visually fit into a context.
The art of making places. Urban design involves the design of buildings, groups of buildings, spaces and landscapes, in villages, towns and cities, and the establishment of frameworks and processes which facilitate successful development.
A document which informs the preparation of development plan policies, or sets out in detail how they are to be implemented in a particular area where there is a need to control, guide and promote change. Area development frameworks are also called a variety of other names, including urban design strategies, area development frameworks, spatial masterplans, and planning and urban design frameworks.
The pattern of the arrangement and size of buildings and their plots in a settlement; and the degree to which an area's pattern of street-blocks and street junctions is respectively small and frequent, or large and infrequent.
The way in which ordinary buildings were built in a particular place, making use of local styles, techniques and materials and responding to local economic and social conditions.
What is visible from a particular point. Compare 'Vista'.
An enclosed view, usually a long and narrow one.