Summary:

The importance of placemaking and design value for health sustainability, social cohesion and the economy is gaining traction in policy and practice and is a core concern for the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE).

A home is more than just an economic unit. A ‘decent’ home is more than four walls, a roof and a temperate environment. An ‘affordable’ home has to be affordable in terms of environmental and social cost as well as economically. However very little is known about what works in terms of placemaking, housing design and delivery.

The focus of our interdisciplinary team is on developing evidence and methodologies that will enable government, local authorities and developers to take design value – which we define as social, environmental and economic value – into account in policy and procurement, weighing it up against other key deliverables currently being investigated across the CACHE network.

Theme lead:

Professor Flora Samuel (University of Reading)

Outputs:

View publications and blogs related to this theme.