The property development industry and sustainable urban brownfield regeneration in England: an analysis of case studies in Thames Gateway and Greater Manchester

The property development industry is a key actor in UK brownfield regeneration projects. UK policy has attempted to interlink ‘sustainable development’ and ‘sustainable brownfield’ policy agendas, which have found an additional focus through the UK government’s ‘Sustainable Communities Plan’, part of a growing international emphasis on sustainable development. This paper examines the emergence of these agendas and related policies, and the role of the property development industry in the regeneration of six differing brownfield sites, based in Thames Gateway and Greater Manchester. Using a conceptual framework, the paper investigates aspects of the sustainability of these projects and highlights key lessons from them for both the UK and overseas. The research is based on structured interviews with a variety of stakeholders, including developers, planners, consultants and community representatives to highlight emerging best practice and related policy implications.

Sustainable urban development to 2050: complex transitions in the built environment of cities

The majority of the world’s population now live in cities. This poses great challenges, but also great opportunities in terms of tackling climate change, resource depletion and environmental degradation. Policy agendas have increasingly focused on how to develop and maintain ‘integrated sustainable urban development’, and a number of theoretical conceptualisations of urban transition have been formulated to help our thinking and understanding in both developed and developing countries. Drawing on examples around the world the paper aims to examine the key ‘critical success factors’ that need to be in place for cities to traverse a pathway to a more sustainable future in urban development terms by 2050. The paper explores how important the issues of ‘scale’ is in the context of complexity and fragmentation in the city’s built environment, identifies the lessons that can be learned for future sustainable urban development, and the further research which is needed to address future urban transitions to 2050.

Urban microclimates and simulation

This chapter examines the workings of urban microclimates and looks at the associated causes and effects of the urban heat island (UHI). It also clarifies the relationship between urban form and the key climatic parameters (sun, daylight, wind, temperature). A particular section is devoted to the concepts of UHI intensity and sky view factor (SVF); these are useful indicators for researchers in this area. The challenge of how to model urban microclimates is covered, featuring the six archetypal urban forms familiar to analysts involved in using simulation software. The latter sections address the issue of urban thermal comfort, the importance of urban ventilation and finally what mitigating strategies can be implemented to curb negative UHI effects.