To make sure you can make the most of your second session, our wonderful academic Dr Emma Wragg has given you a couple of bits to look at.
A short film exploring the connections between environmental issues and urban design & planning.
Your task is to take on the role of urban designer for the day! We want you to to analyse the urban design qualities of the King's Cross regeneration.
Follow these steps to get into the mind of an urban designer!
This short lecture will take you through the basics of the subject, including:
The discipline of urban design
The key principles of urban design, including what makes good spaces.
How to analyse the design qualities of the King’s Cross regeneration project
Watch this short extract from the lecture ‘Introduction to Kings Cross regeneration’. This is from a real lecture delivered to our first year undergraduate students!
Watch these two short films on King's Cross from the Urban Land Institute and Open City.
If you want to go into more depth, examine the Urban Land Institute paper on the King's Cross development and Argent’s 10 Principles for a Human City.
Now consider the 6 principles of urban design set out in the lecture “Designing Cities” and identify how these have been applied to Argent’s vision:
’Creating places that are enjoyable, vibrant and welcoming – where people want to live, to work and to be. Places that have a human scale, that respect their history and context and connect well with their surroundings and the local community. '
Then maybe you'll enjoy a degree which uses these skills! Here are some courses at Oxford Brookes which you might be interested in finding out more about.