Planning review submission
In October 2020 the planning system was under review in England. With no reference to the importance of social issues and tackling loneliness in the Government's White Paper 'Planning for the Future', it was a crucial opportunity to help shape how our built environments are formed, how developers and local authorities can engage with local communities, and what 'design codes' should be factored into housing and public space plans over the coming decades.
A group of organisations and individuals from the Lab community co-created a submission to the White Paper, and encouraged other members of our network to also have their say.
The recommendations included:
Building the evidence base about the role of the built environment in tackling loneliness
Creating national design codes on how to design for connection
Making underused assets in the high street available for community use
Incentivising developers to think about connection in the planning process.
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