Transport for London 'Urban Design Toolkit' (can talentless Hammerson actually understand this?)

Link to web site

"Valuing Urban Realm – Business Cases for Public Spaces’ was conducted for Transport for London in 2006 by Accent and Colin Buchanan. It investigated user attitudes towards the public realm and found that:

"Members of the public value high quality streets and are willing to pay for improvements."

The second phase, carried out for Design for London by MVA Consultancy in 2008, examined the relationship between street quality and property value, as well as the attitude of private stakeholders towards investing in improved quality. It found that:

"There is a positive, significant and consistent value added to private business by maintaining and improving the public realm."

The third phase of the study addresses the health and social benefits of public realm improvements, drawing primarily on existing research on the benefits of pedestrian-oriented environments. It found that:

"Health and wellbeing are positively affected by space and community events."

"Social cohesion is positively affected by space and maintenance."

All research carried out was rigorous, transferrable and statistically significant [although incapable of being understood by Hammerson senior staff].