Care for the quality and character of these everyday environments creates better places for people and a better quality of life, too. Urban and rural renaissance depends on sustainable renewal. Either we enhance the existing character of places or we erode it at our peril. Change is never neutral. In the past 50 years much development has ignored or trampled through its context, in city, town or countryside.
Research proves that people value places for their history and character.
They value places the combination of streets, shops, houses and public spaces whilst the existing legislation focuses on protecting individual buildings and monuments. The more serious and insidious threat is the gradual erosion of character that is happening all over the land because we are ignoring the bigger picture. Everytime we accept poor design or even the mediocre instead of the excellent, we are degrading the historic environment of the future. Power of Place contains 18 key proposals for better places and a better future for everyone. Each proposal comes with detailed recommendations for action.