Urban Design

Urban Design is an increasingly popular design approach to create better places and spaces, it frequently combines other skills and inputs such as (but not only) urban and land use planning, landscape architecture, architecture and transport planning. It is commonly used for large infrastructure projects, town-city design strategy and design, residential development (especially higher density), missed use developments, tourism facilities and park-open space design.

Urban building under construction near park in Auckland New Zealand

For Better Places and Spaces

Making a difference not just for us, but for our children, and our children’s children too.

VisionUrban’s urban design projects have included urban design assessments and frameworks for large residential developments (approximately 500-1000 dwellings), major transport infrastructure, and shared walk-cycle pathways. Project work has included the development of staged masterplans and precinct plans, preparing urban design assessments and frameworks (UDAs and UDFs), co-development of urban design and landscape frameworks (ULDFs), and reviews of urban design assessments for Councils.

Our Technical Director Nick’s involvement in urban design extends back to work on major projects in central London in 2000, and carried on into large projects in Aotearoa New Zealand cities and towns such as Auckland, Whangarei, Tauranga, Wellington, Napier, Hastings, Palmerston North, Gisborne, Wairoa, and Waipukurau. Nick was a very early proponent of urban design in New Zealand, incorporating urban design reviews and assessments in projects in Aotearoa from as early as 2001.

Nick has held principal or lead urban design roles in projects that have won major industry awards for urban design elements over the past decade.

Recognising the greater value in a multi-disciplinary approach to urban design and urban planning, VisionUrban are happy to and often prefer to align or partner with other specialists to deliver larger or more complex projects.

Key Urban Design and Urban Planning services offered by VisionUrban are:

  • Urban Design Assessments and Frameworks (UDA, UDF, and within ULDF).
  • Urban Design Strategies.
  • Urban Design Reviews (of development proposals or UDAs).
  • Urban Design based Masterplans, Structure Plans, and Precinct Plans.
  • Urban Design District Plan Provisions/Review.
  • Urban Design inputs into subdivision design.
  • Combined Urban Design and CPTED Assessment and Review.
  • Options Assessments and Reports.
  • Community Engagement/Consultation.
  • Preparing and Presenting Urban Design Evidence to Council/Commissioner Hearings.

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