Mar 22Design coding, what’s next?The National Planning Policy Framework consultation has brought design codes back into focus for us at the Quality of Life Foundation. Vicky Payne, our Strategy Research and Engagement Lead, worked on the 2021 National Model Design Code (NMDC). …Planning Policy4 min readPlanning Policy4 min read
Mar 9DLUHC project to understand the state of play in post occupancy evaluationIf you carry out post-occupancy evaluations in your developments we want to hear from you. We’re working with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to review the current landscape in relation to post-occupancy evaluations in housing. We’d love to hear from practitioners in the built environment to see…Housing1 min readHousing1 min read
Mar 6Housing and the NPPF: does it really need to be ‘this or that’?by Emma Cooke, External Affairs Manager, and Vicky Payne, Strategy, Research and Engagement Lead Housing crisis? What housing crisis? That’s the question you might find yourself asking when reading the Government’s proposals on refreshing the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Like many other organisations with an interest in housing and…Planning4 min readPlanning4 min read
Mar 1The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill must support creating health through planningBy Emma Cooke, External Affairs Manager We are in no doubt at all that the environments in which we live have a direct impact on our health. The 2010 Marmot Review highlighted the links between health and our built and natural environments. …Planning3 min readPlanning3 min read
Feb 23Community engagement in planning: towards a code of conductBy Matthew Morgan, Director Since 2021 we’ve been working with four universities across the UK — Reading, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Ulster — to deep dive into the world of community engagement on issues of place. We’ve been doing this through the UKRI-funded Community Consultation for Quality of Life project. The…Community Engagement2 min readCommunity Engagement2 min read
Feb 1Housing for Hope and Wellbeing: an author Q&AAt the end of 2022, Professor Flora Samuel published her latest book: Housing for Hope and Wellbeing. We spoke to Professor Samuel — one of our trustees — about the book, why it’s needed and what its take home messages are. What inspired you to write this book? Three things…Housing3 min readHousing3 min read
Jan 24Joining the 4-day-week waveFirst, the pandemic tipped the idea of an office on its head. Then came the Quiet Quitting movement. What followed was the brave thought that perhaps the 9 to 5, five-day working week may be outdated and no longer fit for purpose. This is where the 100:80:100 model came in…Health2 min readHealth2 min read
Jan 5Building healthy and rejecting harmfulness: a reflection on the purpose of planningby Emma Cooke, External Affairs Manager Much has already been written about the recently published consultation on the government’s proposed approach to reviewing the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) — asking questions about how the proposals will affect housing supply, what the implications of National Development Management Policies might be…Health3 min readHealth3 min read
Jan 3Thriving in hard times — it is possible.Written by Dominique Staindl, Consultant at the Quality of Life Foundation We are facing a recession, the cost-of-living crisis is biting, while the fallout continues from Brexit and Covid. …Architecture4 min readArchitecture4 min read
Nov 21, 2022Commission, connect, co-create: a model for empowering young voicesBy Clare Richards, Founding Director at Footwork Inclusive engagement is an important topic and a vital practice. Here, Clare Richards of Footwork shares her experience of developing My Place — a new model of local involvement that empowers young people to drive the conversation. “They should have taken into consideration…4 min read4 min read
