Quality of life in the city, creation of spaces based on urban planning standards

This training will provide an overview of planning and urban design metrics for achieving quality of life in cities. The scale at which global problems meet local solutions is a neighbourhood. It’s large enough to involve all actors and apply systemic solutions, compact enough for agility, lifespan of transformation fits into political cycles, progress can be easily tracked, changes are visible on a daily basis, local community can become the driving force. The neighbourhoods must become greener and thrive, with focus on human scale, climate-responsiveness and connectivity. 

I.
In the first part of the training the tutors will present the most important metrics of the quality, quantity and accessibility of public infrastructure in cities - including transport and mobility, provision of public space and amenities, green space, taking into consideration the social aspects and local context. Local laws, regulations and international standards will be reviewed and some best practice examples will be used to illustrate the metrics of urban planning.

II.
In the second part of the training, participants will work in small groups to implement the quality of life metrics on urban tissue  in neighbourhood scale in order to construct a great place to live. The participants will have a chance to assess the benefits and potential barriers to the implementation of the urban planning standards in their cities and countries. Each participant will be able to demonstrate the impact of the use of standards both in urban development planning and in redefining the city individually. The participants will gain a better understanding of accessibility of public amenities by modal split with special focus on walkability - a key component of pushing cities towards net zero.

The training will be rounded off by a discussion of all participants about the studied examples and their effective application to different spatial situations.