Design Content of Development Plans' is a continuing research topic at Strathclyde University and Matthew Carmona described the state of play in seeing if the planning system could be improved in urban design terms. The first research funded by the DOE concerned good practice for Local Plans and this resulted in a research report which is shortly to be published and a good practice guide which the DOE wish to relate to their Quality initiatives. This is being taken into more depth in a ESRC study which is more analytical and theoretical, looking at the effect of design policies in Local Plans by examining whether more sophisticated policies lead to greater success in having appeals dismissed. The preliminary findings appear to indicate that more sophisticated policies do lead to decisions being upheld, that Local Authorities have a better than average success in rural areas with the worst performance being in economically disadvantaged locations. He considered that there is no urban design theory that addresses the city overall - they are all partial theories.
Cities become a series of unrelated elements and unsustainable in social terms.
Urban design is not responding to those challenges and the problems lie in the strategy not the details. He referred to studies he had made of the Glasgow conurbation and its unsatisfactory structure, how it could be imploded by higher densities, a wider range of dwelling types and creating a network of local centres allowing the outer suburbs to disappear. To enable a wide range of papers to be presented a series of workshops were held. Bob Jarvis gave a highly individualistic multimedia presentation on 'Why do we believe urban design has a product' drawing on visual images and sound and a series of statements to seduce the senses. His main messages were that urban designing is more important than a label, that we don't need a masterplan and that products are incidental.