Our Way
Living Cities Consultancy takes advantage of the vast wealth of ideas and experience concentrated in cities, both individually and collectively, to bring our cities back to life. Our work is part of a world-wide movement to rehabilitate our cities from the ravages of decades of anti-city 'development'. In the period following World War II, our cities became cancers unto themselves, destroying the very thing that gives them life - concentration of people, and hence all the talent and creativity they embody.
'Civilisation', by definition, means 'life in cities'. In cities, everything that the whole world has to offer is available to those who will find it. Every city is unique and we will ensure that whichever direction your city develops in, that uniqueness is preserved, if not enhanced. Working with our clients, we aim to create that Quality Urban Experience that puts the world at every city-dweller's feet.
Services
"Living Cities Consultancy Ltd intervenes in cities in order to heal them. While one intervention does not necessarily return a city to a vibrant, integrated, self-perpetuating organism, every intervention can contribute to it. We can help assure that whatever you do, your city moves closer to becoming a living city. We believe that the surest way to create a living city is right at the start of a project: when the idea is first mooted. We will help define the problem before you spend money on what could have been a better solution. The earlier you call us, the more we'll be able to do for you.
Aesthetics, beauty and quality are attributes we all want for our projects and cities, but are often at a loss for how to achieve. Living Cities Consultancy Ltd specialises in aesthetic project management: applying the skills, discipline and teamwork of project management to the procurement of aesthetics and quality. We will work alongside your project manager as a key member of your team, ensuring that quality and aesthetics are built-in from the start, that all opportunities for enhancing these are explored and that all aspects that undermine these are reduced. We take particular pride in being able to work with architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, artists, local authorities and inspectors to achieve a product that not only works well, but looks good and feels great to experience.
Taking some of these examples, Living Cities goes about its work in the following ways:
BRAINSTORMING FOR QUALITY URBAN EXPERIENCE
- We will rapidly generate a large number of ideas drawing on our experience in cities nationally and internationally, exploring everything from pavement plantboxes to international airports, school competitions to pro-active immigration initiatives
- Each idea is given a Feasibility Rating based on an Input Rating and an Output Rating
- All ideas with a Feasibility Rating of 90% or above are developed into concepts and written up in a Concept Assessment Report. The Report recommends which concepts be put forward for feasibility study or detailed design by third parties.
CREATING AN IMAGE, FORMULATING A VISION AND RAISING YOUR CITY’S PROFILE
- We will assess how your city is perceived both by its inhabitants (across all social categories) and by your country at large
- We can identify the city's hidden assets and put forward suggestions for how to take advantage of these to enhance the city's image
- We work closely with you to understand what image would be most beneficial to your city both currently and at a target point in the future
- Where there is a discrepancy between the image held and the image desired, we will make recommendations for bridging this gap
- We will work closely with you to assess whatever long-term vision you hold for your city. Where appropriate, we will make recommendations for further developing this vision
- We are also able to create a new vision from scratch, based on the existing and possible future roles of the city regionally, nationally and internationally
DESIGN STANDARDS GUIDES
Working directly from the stipulations of the Office for Government Commerce and consistent with the call from CABE, we are able to produce Design Standards Guides for almost any intervention in the built environment. Whether upgrading streets of semi-detached houses to streets of townhouses, or designing your tram system to weave into and enhance the urban fabric or masterplanning a swathe of brownfield sites, a robust Design Standards Guide is an effective tool for ensuring that design, aesthetics and quality are accepted as integral to the product, rather than added extras. We will
- Work with all professionals to ensure that no professional input is compromised
- Value-for-money is respected
- Aesthetics, design and quality are enforcable
IDENTIFYING DEVELOPMENT CATALYSTS
- To kick-start the development process, we identify potential quick-win investments. These are not necessarily show-piece projects, their purpose being to trigger further development (short, medium and long-term)
- We help to identify and possibly redefine a city's economic catchment area
- Potential magnets for investment, high-value migrants, formal visitors (conferences, exhibitions, sporting events, etc.), informal visitors (tourists - incl. backpackers, cycletourists; day shoppers, etc.) are identified
- We encourage the harnessing of transient populations, e.g., students, to the long-term development of the city
ASSESSING EXISTING OR PROPOSED URBAN POLICIES
- We are able to serve as a sounding board for your policies and proposals, both existing and proposed
- These will be subjected to rigorous scrutiny according to a set of criteria appropriate to the case
- A Policy/Proposal Assessment Report will be prepared. This Report will be frank in its comments. Should you require, alternatives or amendments will be suggested
IDENTIFYING AND CAPTURING THE HIDDEN BENEFITS OF PROJECTS
- Both proposed and existing projects can be examined for any unanticipated benefits that might be extracted from them
- We suggest the necessary policy and other adaptations that might have to be carried out in order to fully take advantage of such newly-identified benefits
- If we are involved right at the outset, we will show you how your planned tram system, e.g., can be used to solve a whole host of urban problems
PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL
- We design and compile promotional material for your city, ready for production by third parties
- We are also able, with our associates, to design or redesign your city's website to be a preview of the city you'd like to have
* All reports are produced both on paper and electronically. Both versions become the property of the Client. Concept Assessment Reports are valid for three months, six months, one year, two years or five years, depending on the rate of change in the city in question at the time the ideas were being generated. Image and Vision Reports are valid for one, two or five years, depending on the rate of change in the city in question at the time the vision was created. Additional charges will apply to Reports in languages other than English, French or German; multilingual Reports and Reports in non-Latin scripts.