About Urban Design Group
Working together to make life better in our cities, towns and villages
The Urban Design Group (UDG) is a membership charity open to all who care about the quality of life in our cities, towns and villages and believe that raising standards of urban design is central to its improvement. The UDG believes that good urban design depends upon successful collaboration between all those who shape the built environment, whatever their professional or personal background.
The Urban Design Group is committed to:
- Improving the quality of life for people who live and work in cities, towns and villages
- Providing high quality information on best practice in urban design through: a quarterly journal Urban Design, a free electronic news service Urban Update; free on-line lectures kindly hosted by Urbannous www.urbannous.org.uk, running events and workshops, and an annual non-profitmaking conference.
- Providing a focus for the dissemination of research to practitioners in order to increase impact; and for relaying research needs to academia.
- Improving the professional standards in urban design and urban designers.
- Supporting decision makers in making long term decisions about the quality of the towns and cities for which they are responsible
- Promoting collaboration within the urban design process and between the professions.
- Raising standards in urban design practice.
- Developing a network of urban designers both nationally and internationally
Featured articles and news
The Sustainability Pathfinder© Handbook
Built environment agency launches free Pathfinder© tool to help businesses progress sustainability strategies.
Government outcome to the late payment consultation, ECA reacts.
IHBC 2025 Gus Astley Student Award winners
Work on the role of hewing in UK historic conservation a win for Jack Parker of Oxford Brookes University.
Future Homes Building Standards and plug-in solar
Parts F and L amendments, the availability of solar panels and industry responses.
How later living housing can help solve the housing crisis
Unlocking homes, unlocking lives.
Preparing safety case reports for HRBs under the BSA
A new practical guide to preparing structural inputs for safety cases and safety case reports published by IStructE.
Male construction workers and prostate cancer
CIOB and Prostate Cancer UK encourage awareness of prostate cancer risks, and what to do about it.
The changed R&D tax landscape for Architects
Specialist gives a recap on tax changes for Research and Development, via the ACA newsletter.
Structured product data as a competitive advantage
NBS explain why accessible product data that works across digital systems is key.
Welsh retrofit workforce assessment
Welsh Government report confirms Wales faces major electrical skills shortage, warns ECA.
A now architectural practice looks back at its concept project for a sustainable oceanic settlement 25 years on.
Copyright and Artificial Intelligence
Government report and back track on copyright opt out for AI training but no clear preferred alternative as yet.
Embedding AI tools into architectural education
Beyond the render: LMU share how student led research is shaping the future of visualisation workflows.
Why document control still fails UK construction projects
A Chartered Quantity Surveyor explains what needs to change and how.
Inspiration for a new 2026 wave of Irish construction professionals.
New planning reforms and Warm Homes Bill
Take centre stage at UK Construction Week London.
A brief run down of changes intentions from April in an onwards.