Despite the challenges of a tough economic climate, building developments are ongoing across Britain, introducing new places to live and work into existing communities. However, whilst the long term impact of changes to the built environment are significant and far-reaching, community engagement in the planning process is inadequate thanks to a government system yet to embrace potentially transformative web technologies.
The internet has essentially introduced a network of tools which encourage interaction. As with most new technologies, this began in a very basic manner. The email – simply an electronic version of physical mail – is now the world’s largest social network and was the first iteration of the social media sites which take up so much of our browsing time today.
Current social media activity offers a dynamic range of online interactions in real-time, at varying levels of privacy and between numerous people. Recent advancements in 3G and smartphone technologies have allowed location-based tools to proliferate, encouraging online interactions between people and place for the first time.
Yet alongside these advances lies the British planning system, which has barely innovated since 1995. In that year, the London Borough of Wandsworth began publishing planning applications online, vastly improving access in the process. Within ten years, most planning authorities were doing the same, but major technological developments have stopped there. The British planning system still appears to be in its email stage, presenting real-world content online with little consideration for the unique opportunities digital platforms present.
For those of us without an education in architecture, buildings are best considered visually. What better way to understand a new development than by viewing a 3D model of its design? Technologies already exist which allow 3D rendering of architectural models online, offering communities a ‘vision’ of their future built environment. Instead, the general public has access to text-heavy PDFs written in technical language far removed from most people’s understanding.
At this stage, if anyone is left confident enough to offer feedback, it is invited via meetings, letters, or emails. But web technologies have evolved to the point where people can instantly comment, with simple tools available that pin feedback to specific locations on 3D models.
Better involving local people in the planning process can contribute to the creation of more engaged communities. Web tools which offer the opportunity to visualise and comment on future developments will inevitably lead to more feedback, encouraging an increased role for residents in shaping the building developments that surround them.
The British planning system has the opportunity to evolve parallel to the web technologies it began adopting in 1995. An accessible service for broad community feedback could be created where democratic engagement in architecture and urban design is the norm. However, with fifteen years passing since its last major innovation, Britain’s archaic planning system is making slow progress.
Photo: Papaioannou Kostas
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