The engineer: a key enabler in urban design

After decades of decline, inner cities are, at last, being regenerated. In addition, many decades of official indifference to urban ugliness and bland townscape are giving way to a recognition of the need for urban design. Central government, especially through the initiatives of the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions, is driving this forward. The professions are trying to catch up. City council officers, apart from their acute skills shortages, still have a few political and cultural demons to slay. More and more, attention is turning to our hopelessly out-of-date planning system. Increasingly, there are calls for a fundamental change in the way we do things. This paper addresses the inherent problems and challenges of achieving such changes by ‘joined-up’ thinking across the various disciplines. Good urban design is not the domain of the engineer alone, but requires that everyone ‘talk the same language’ to provide a common vision that can be realised to enhance our urban landscapes and revitalise our cities.