The well-established concept of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) is open to quite divergent interpretation. At one extreme it promotes fortification of the private realm as a defensible space, secure within its perimeter of surveillance and protection systems. At the other, it implies a removal of protective barriers to make the public realm more transparent—a civic space, open to view and visibly managed. The first approach emphasises target-hardening, the closure of escape routes, and a segregation of land uses; the second approach emphasises ‘eyes on the street’, permeable layout (i.e. through-routes), and mixed-use development. Within current British government advice to local authorities, the police-based Secured by Design initiative (www.securedbydesign.com) tends towards the first approach and By Design (DETR, 2000) the second.
American CPTED practitioners are similarly divided. Al Zelinka and Dean Brennan belong firmly to the persuasion which seeks to deter crime by positive street design. They acknowledge Jane Jacobs' pioneering work on factors that determine the level of confidence or fear in urban neighbourhoods. Still trenchant and relevant, her 1961 book The Death and Life of Great American Cities inspires a continuing search for the alchemy of urban districts which are safe and liveable because the thoroughfares are lined with an active frontage (windows and doors) and a mix of land uses which stimulate pedestrianism and so encourage civility.
Safescapes reviews the experience of design for safety and liveability. Written by two practising planners and and published by the American Planning Association, the book incorporates a useful outline of key principles, several hundred photographs of good and bad practice, reprints of some key articles, 17 project case studies and an extensive bibliography. To show how public safety can be factored into the regulatory process, the 1999 draft city-wide design guidelines for the municipality of Huntington Beach, California are reprinted in full. So too is a short introductory paper on the external lighting standards of the Illuminated Engineering Society of North America (IESNA).
The longest section of Safescapes, and unfortunately the weakest, is the review of contemporary CPTED practice. Drawn from a range of urban and suburban environments, each example is based on a photographic image, although a plan, map or diagram would often have served better. The images have no geographical attributions; all we can surmise is that the authors took photographs all over America, adding a few shots from a trip to London. The commentary is subjective in tone. Unlike the recent Anglo-American study Planning for Crime Prevention (R. Schneider and T. Kitchen, Routledge, 2002), Safescapes does not seem to recognise that the time has come to move the entrenched CPTED debate onto an empirical footing. Ultimately, the efficacy of street-based urban design for restoring public confidence in the liveability of our cities will be proved or disproved on the hard evidence of crime rates, property values, insurance premiums and dwelling voids. At a time when so much design guidance has been made available to local authorities, a set of unsubstantiated design principles is not a highly recommendable purchase.
This 15-page booklet has been produced by Croydon Council Environmental Health Service as a Code of Practice to assist developers and their contractors to undertake their works with the least disruption to local communities. The Code of Practice provides a concise description of the responsibilities that are placed on a contractor carrying out either demolition or construction work both on and off the highway.
Part 1 of the Code briefly sets out the main legal provisions which should be complied with and then quickly covers the contractor's duties to protect both the public and buildings, the hours of work that should be adopted, and the publicity that should be used. Part 2 of the Code describes the actions that should be undertaken to protect the public from noise and vibration caused by plant and equipment, piling and sand-blasting. Part 3 of the Code covers how a contractor should act to ensure that dust and air pollution are minimised and how soil contamination should be handled. Part 4 describes aspects of drainage such as ‘sealing off’ from the main sewer during demolition.
The content is practical, concise and simple, although it lacks any technical depth. I would expect any qualified engineer or experienced contractor to already possess the knowledge and information contained within the Code. One of its main strengths, however, are its cross-references to the relevant departments of Croydon Council together with telephone numbers within each of the sections within the code. In this respect the Code's main use is restricted to within Croydon itself.
However, the Code does form a very useful model, which could be copied and customised by other authorities for use in their own areas. Used in this way, the Code would provide a valuable document for contractors and builders working in local authority areas which are new to them. Other local authorities would do well to follow Croydon's example.
This book presents the report of the European Construction Institute (ECI) task force Partnering in Europe. It focuses on project-specific alliancing and is based on best practice. There were more than 40 contributors from around Europe and Bob Scott was the chairman of the Task Force.
The book's intended readership is those yet to embrace partnering in construction but who employ sound management principles. A survey in the process industries showed alliances to be successful on projects from £10 million to £1000 million or more; projects below about £15–20 million may not be ideally suited.
As a book aimed at a non-experienced audience it achieves its aim: it is well-written, structured in a logical and easy-to-follow form and uses appropriate writing and technology. A small gripe is that some examples from practice are given but more use of such practical examples would have been welcomed. Nevertheless, the book can be recommended to the readership and will also be welcomed and used by those more experienced in alliances as an addition to the literature on the subject.
The book has eleven chapters and is split into two sections: Part 1, Chapters 1–4, 40 pages, is on understanding partnering/alliancing; Part 2, Chapter 5–11, 80 pages, is on implementing an alliance—a toolkit. There is a short bibliography (there is little or no referencing in the text), a useful glossary of terms and three appendices on disputes, targets and examples of project intents. The absence of references in the text makes it difficult for an interested new reader to research aspects of interest in greater depth.
Part 1 introduces partnering and alliances with discussions on the key features and principles. The potential benefits to cost and time targets are considered; a further benefit is job satisfaction and enjoyment by those involved. This part finishes with a consideration of legal issues.
Part 2 is the main substance of the book. It progresses from a decision to alliance through the necessary preparatory steps, patner selection issues, alliance development, alignment and commitment and building and sustaining relationships necessary to develop a successful alliance. Probabilistic risk management is introduced and used to establish agreed costs and targets. Project team organisations and the relationships with stakeholder systems are illustrated. Only one minor typographical error was found; the reference to Appendix 1 on the top of p. 89 should read Appendix 2.
In conclusion, the book is an effective way for those not familiar with partnering and alliances to make an informed start on the road. It promotes good management practice and demonstrates the potential for win-win outcomes for all involved. Alliancing, properly managed, will produce projects to cost and time with a reduced risk of uncertainty. The book can be recommended to all those with an interest in the topic, including experienced managers. At £45 it is worth its place on the bookshelf.
This manual was published by CIRIA towards the end of 2001, and is the latest in a series of publications on sustainable drainage. It is aimed not only at the drainage practitioner but also at those who might have a broader interest in the subject. There are separate design manuals available for England and Wales, and for Scotland and Northern Ireland, and those who might query why issues of sustainability should differ throughout the UK are referred to these companion publications.
Following an introduction on the principles, concepts and benefits of SUDS, the manual proceeds to give four examples of site-specific installations in urban and rural situations. For those doubters who remain, there follows a lengthy chapter on why SUDS should be used, with sections on benefits, overcoming challenges, and frequently asked questions. This chapter goes to some length in explaining the complexities of long-term ownership and maintenance, and states euphemistically that ‘SUDS presents challenges in setting up long term management and ownership agreements’.
The chapter on implementation demonstrates the ways in which local authorities are using the Statutory Planning Framework to promote SUDS, and a process chart is given to encourage the faint-hearted by showing that problems which arise have already been met and overcome successfully. The manual concludes by exhorting us to use the SUDS principle in a spirit of cooperation so that we may all do our bit to save the planet.
However, that is not the end of the story. There follow a number of appendices which are valuable contributions in themselves, but might have been better incorporated in the main text. The dissertation on the Legal Framework is a useful reference document but unfortunately does nothing to clarify this situation, This is due to the complexity of the law and not the lawyer who concludes that: ‘In the range of circumstances that have been described … new legislation … would be helpful.’ The Draft Maintenance Agreement included later applies only to Scotland, with the situation in England and Wales remaining unclear with agreements negotiated on a ‘siteby-site’ basis.
The appendix on demonstration sites is one of the most useful parts of the manual, and sets out in some detail how SUDS has been implemented in different situations across the country, from a sports centre in Bognor to a service area on the M40. If there is a criticism here, it is that the financial information is sparse, and phrases such as ‘cheaper to install’ are not really compelling to convince the doubters. However, contact names and addresses are given for those wishing to follow up the details of any specific project. Further appendices deal with case studies, and selection of materials and systems, but the selection tool for deciding on a specific SUDS installation resembles a game of snakes and ladders.
Overall, the manual is a useful contribution to the debate on sustainability; however, although it purports to be suitable reading for the layperson, it will be of most benefit to practising engineers who wish to learn more about environmentally friendly solutions to the disposal of surface water.
