Vision
Create places where people of all ages and backgrounds can live well, connect easily, and feel they belong. Consider community life first and foremost.
Expectations
These expectations outline what good looks like. They are not in a set order of priority.
- Design for natural surveillance and balance the need for privacy and security with opportunities to socialise and connect.
- Create sociable layouts with spaces for different-sized groups to gather, play and interact, along corridors, in front of homes, through public seating and sociable streets.
- Prioritise walkable, mixed-use neighbourhoods with everyday services (schools, pubs, shops, cafes, recreation and community hubs) within easy reach.
- Deliver holistic infrastructure that enables communities to thrive now and long into the future. Infrastructure planning should be timely and context-responsive, covering utilities, jobs, transport, education, health, nature and services.
- Design for all life stages and abilities: children, young people, families, elderly, disabled and neurodivergent residents.
- Facilitate creativity and culture in the public realm, to strengthen identity and pride of place.
- Provide multigenerational, affordable and adaptable homes where residential uses are proposed.
- Involve communities in shaping design through co-creation and co-production processes.
People-first design means thinking about how places work for everyone, now and in the future. Collaboration, inclusion and co-creation are central to achieving these outcomes. Explore the related pages in the sidebar for guidance on how to put this into practice.