Consultation on the strategic road network and the delivery of sustainable development

Posted on: 11 February 2013
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The government has published revised policy for consultation, setting out the role of the strategic road network in enabling economic growth. The new policy will replace Circulars Circular 02/2007 Planning and the Strategic Road Network, and DfT Circular 01/2008 Policy on service areas and other roadside facilities on motorways and all-purpose trunk roads in England. Comments are requested by 25 March 2013.

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Planning, connecting and financing cities – now: Priorities for city leaders

Posted on: 11 February 2013
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This report from the World Bank provides a policy guide local officials can use to create the jobs, housing, and infrastructure needed to turn their cities into hubs of prosperity for current and future residents. It presents a practical framework for sustainable urbanization, which is organized around the three policy pillars of the title. The  coordination among these pillars is critical, particularly the relationship between land use planning and hazard risk, housing, infrastructure, and urban transport. This framework has already helped to reshape core urbanization policy debates and to integrate action across the urban space in countries such as Colombia, India, Uganda, and Vietnam.

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10 principles for liveable high density cities: Lessons from Singapore

Posted on: 11 February 2013
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This report draws upon Singapore’s successful urbanisation experience. Despite its population density, the city-state has consistently ranked favourably in various surveys measuring the liveability and sustainability of cities around the globe.

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Responsible sourcing of materials in construction

Posted on: 8 February 2013
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There is an increasing focus on the responsible sourcing and stewardship of products and materials used in construction, with stakeholders requiring information on the associated social, economic and environmental impacts over the lifespan of a building project. In line with developments in this rapidly changing area of the industry, the BRE Trust has funded the development of new guidance on the benefits of responsible procurement and how to ensure sustainable principles are embedded across the supply chain. Covering sector-specific approaches to responsible sourcing for materials including timber, steel and concrete, the guidance provides an outline of key sustainability standards and certification methods. It also features case studies on two major commercial projects using responsibly sourced reinforced steel and PEFC timber used in a hybrid steel-timber extension.  [Price £13]

BRE is also currently undertaking a review of BES6001 and is keen to gather a wide range of stakeholders’ views on the responsible sourcing standard. Click here to take part in the survey. The consultation period is open until 10 April 2013.

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English housing survey 2011 to 2012: headline report

Posted on: 8 February 2013
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In April 2008 the English House Condition Survey was integrated with the Survey of English Housing to form the English Housing Survey (EHS). This report provides the headline findings from the third round of reporting of the EHS.  The report is split into two sections. The first focuses on the profile of households including: trends in tenures; demographic and economic characteristics of households; rents and housing benefit; recent movers; mortgage difficulties; and overcrowding and under-occupation. Section 2 provides an overview of the housing stock in England including: the age, size, and type of home; energy efficiency of the housing stock; decent homes; and homes affected by damp and mould. Additional annex tables provide further detail to that covered in the main body of the report.

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English housing survey 2010: homes report

Posted on: 8 February 2013
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The Department for Communities and Local Government has published its annual report on housing in England. This report, formally known as the housing stock report, is the detailed report of findings relating to the housing stock from the English housing survey.

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Tomorrow’s city today: Eco-city indicators, standards and frameworks

Posted on: 8 February 2013
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This project deals with the international development and use of various ‘eco-city’ indicators, standards and frameworks. It is centred upon a deliberative process involving an international group of leading experts. Funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, the project involved a three-day conference held in autumn 2012 in Bellagio, Italy. The project comprises three parts: (1) comparative analyses of contemporary eco-city indicator systems and endorsement schemes; (2) evaluation of eco-city indicator use within particular policy contexts; and (3) recommendations concerning policy needs and opportunities at local, national and international levels. This report contains the results of the project.

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Focus on: London hotel developments 2013

Posted on: 8 February 2013
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This report from Jones Lang Lasalle provides a comprehensive analysis of hotel development activity in London and its impact on hotel trading performance.

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Investing in resilience: Ensuring a disaster-resistant future

Posted on: 8 February 2013
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A new report published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) says that human and financial losses from natural disasters in Asia and the Pacific continue to grow. Yet, reducing such losses is possible through investments in risk assessment, risk reduction and residual risk management. The appropriate use of existing instruments and mechanisms in the legislative, regulatory, policy, planning, institutional, financial, and capacity-building arenas can increase resilience. Moreover, there is increasing awareness from decision makers of the need to build partnerships with all levels of society along with close cooperation with the international community. Disaster resilience is increasingly viewed as a critical component of efforts to achieve sustainable socioeconomic development and poverty reduction. In the context of increasing exposure and vulnerability to meteorological, hydrological and climate-related hazards associated with a changing climate, climate change adaptation also need to be combined with actions to strengthen disaster resilience under a single framework. This report contains an extensive bibliography.

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International Eco-Cities Initiative

Posted on: 8 February 2013
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The International Eco-Cities Initiative is a multi-national research network co-ordinated by scholars at the University of Westminster (London), the Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore), and the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the Smithsonian Institution (Washington DC).  The initiative undertakes and supports: research into contemporary urban sustainability and related governance and innovation issues; comparative analyses of diverse eco-city initiatives in various national and cultural contexts; seminars, workshops and conferences; knowledge transfer between academics, policy-makers and practitioners; and postgraduate and research training through the MPhil/PhD programme. You can sign up to receive issues of the International Eco-Cities Initiative newsletter. Published three times per year, it provides information about the project’s research, events and publications, and seeks to contribute to analysis and discourse on ‘eco-cities’ and sustainable urbanism of various kinds across the world.

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