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Space Place Life - Learning from Place 1

Brian Evans edited this volume and the accompanying "Urban Identity: Learning from Place 2" with Frank Macdonald of The Irish Times. He also contributed the chapter of the book dealing with the three neighbourhoods: "Neighbourhoods: the basic building block of the city" in this volume and in the latter, the chapter of the book dealing with the three towns: "Small Cities: Kilkenny, St Andrews & Winchester".

Evans is a founder member of the Academy of Urbanism, an inter-disciplinary collaboration that seeks to investigate qualities of urbanism throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland within five categories: city; town; neighbourhood; street and place. The Academy also investigates urbanism in European cities.

The research involved defining and using a process for assessing places. Initially nominations are invited by open public subscription. The nominated places are initially investigated by a committee of Academicians who prepare a long list for each category. This list is assessed using criteria including: governance; character & distinctiveness; user friendliness; commercial viability; environmental & social sustainability; and, functionality. The 3 shortlisted places in each category are further scrutinised by Academicians over a two-month period. An authoritative report is prepared under the editorship of the lead assessor for the category (in this case, the neighbourhoods) and the full Academy is again invited to vote in order to establish the winners. The research reports that have been produced are then written up by the lead assessor as a book chapter in order to document and disseminate the pedagogic value of studying the qualities of the places.

The work is disseminated to all of the members of the Academy of Urbanism and to stakeholders within the 15 places shortlisted that year. Typically, the research and investigation phase attracts considerable interest and is disseminated through various media including TV, radio and press.

http://www.academyofurbanism.org.uk/projects/main_projects_publications.html

http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Space_Place_Life.html?id=DxrAbwAACAAJ&redir_esc=y

http://www.ribabookshops.com/item/space-place-life-learning-from-place-1/74850/