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PAN 44: Fitting New Housing Development into the Landscape

DESIGN A - LANDSCAPE CAPACITY

i Landscape capacity is a measure of the degree of acceptable modification that the landscape can absorb. It embraces:

• the capacity or sensitivity of the landscape; and
• the potential of new elements to strengthen positive attributes (such as an attractive wetland area) and ameliorate the impact of elements which detract from the overall integrity of the landscape (for example, derelict buildings and degraded land).

ii Landscape capacity can be established by recording and integrating the natural features of the landscape such as the incidence and scale of valleys, woodland and so on. Essentially, capacity is a function of topography, ie landform and groundcover vegetation. The interplay of these can combine to create a landscape of high capacity, eg undulating with tree cover or low capacity, eg open, expansive and bare.

iii The character of the landscape is used to interpret its capacity to absorb development and can be described using a standard vocabulary and associated plans, sketches and photographs. This approach is adopted in the former Countryside Commission for Scotland guidelines on landscape assessment which provides a useful reference.

iv Generally speaking, undulating and complex topography will create opportunities to absorb new development as will wooded or afforested areas. This will not be the case with flat lowland landscapes or open and expansive upland landscapes.

v The principles of landscape analysis can be applied to the landscape around a settlement in order to come to a view about the capacity of a landscape to absorb further development. Equally, this process could be used to establish planting guidelines to assist in ameliorating the impact of existing developed areas.

vi A variety of layouts are tested against the analysis criteria. The better arrangements are worked up further until an optimum proposal for the site emerges. On this hypothetical site the comfortable landscape capacity for housing development is achieved by developing two zones as shown on the adjacent plan.

DESIGN B - URBAN STUDIES: STRUCTURE & HIERARCHY

i Part A of this manual stressed the importance of structure in the urban form which is critically related to hierarchy of buildings. Hierarchy here means the size and setting of buildings in relation to their public importance, the relative significance of streets and spaces within neighbourhoods. Structure refers to a planned framework within which a hierarchy of buildings and places can be understood.

ii Today most suburban developments suffer from the absence of both structure and hierarchy. In many recent developments, current practice has attempted to redress this issue. However, it is not solely a design matter and whereas it is well understood which design parameters need to be addressed, this issue is critically related to scale and density.

DESIGN C - URBAN STUDIES: SCALE AND DENSITY

i Scale and density vary with development objectives, for example, the nature of' a development could be individual villas which is likely to lead to low density. On the other hand the objective could be to create flats and sheltered housing which is likely to lead to a high density. The key to successful development is to minimise uniform densities. It is important to avoid mono-use, mono-scale and mono-density, which leads to lack of identity and lack of legibility.

ii This is the central reason for the creation of modern developments which have no sense of place. Successful neighbourhoods have focal points of community activity within them, such as shops, village hall, parish church, library etc. Larger new developments must not only incorporate other uses at the outset but also allow space for neighbourhood activities to evolve once the community becomes established.

iii Use, scale and density can vary throughout a development and it is the blend of these factors which is important in order to achieve the objectives of structure and hierarchy. Generally, developments should be more dense at the centre and less dense at the edge. This helps to create a focus and a traditional physical structure that is readily "understood".

iii If the principles of structure and hierarchy are balanced with scale and density, then it is quite possible to create a balanced community of old and young people through a mix of unit size and a mix of tenure.

iv A balanced mix and tenure will also generate a range of patterns of activity from different community groups which leads to varied patterns of activity across the day. This maximises opportunities for social interaction and promotes passive supervision of the housing area. The desirability of achieving such objectives is well documented and forms the subject of much current urban design research.

DESIGN D - URBAN STUDIES: HEIGHT AND MASSING

Height and massing flows from structure and hierarchy. In part it is borne out of the mix of housing, size and tenure which is proposed. For example height is directly related to the type of property. Flats tend to be higher - frequently 4 storeys - and they can also be grouped to create urban squares. On the other hand, detached villas with a much lower density would not normally exceed 2 or 2.5 storeys. Today massing is often dictated by road layout.

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