Co-Opting Policy for Sustainable Development: Exploring The Relationship Between The Low Carbon Coventry 2020 Vision and Urban Planning

Within any city, there is a multiplicity of landscapes ranging from natural and human-made physical spaces to the invisible flows of capital, culture, information and policy. The dynamic between public policy and design has a profound effect on architecture and the city, particularly given contemporary challenges such as climate change, shifting demographics, disruptive events, technologies and politics. Recent changes within the UK building process have seen the role of the architect diminished in the design and construction process; however, this paper posits that designers need to engage with policy creation as well as traditional design responsibilities to deliver sustainable cities that serve the public. This paper examines the city of Coventry’s historical cycles of industrial reinvention and the resultant spatial urban regeneration. Qualitative analysis of sustainability policies at international, national, regional and local scales is used in conjunction with spatial quantitative surveys to uncover discrepancies between Low Carbon Coventry 2020 intent with reality. This investigation concludes with the creation of an urban design tool intended to facilitate participatory co-design and planning between various disciplines as well as between city leadership and the public to more effectively spatialise carbon targets and urban possibilities within the sustainability policy framework.

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ISBN
978-1-944214-31-9