Research Profile
Mr Mike Biddulph
The Urban Village: A Real or Imagined Contribution to Sustainable Development
Funded by the ESRC, this research examined the value and utility of the urban village concept. The research determined whether environmentally deterministic, socio-spatial presciptions associated with the concept were realised in practice; whether urban village design and planning principles accorded with resident aspirations; and how the development concept and its implementation informed existing socio-spatial theory in the built environment field.
Home Zones: Planning and Design Handbook
Funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and supported by The Children's Play Council, Transport 2000, The Architecture Foundation and Sustrans, this project has involved producing a good practice guide for the planning and design of home zones.
Awards for Housing Design
Funded by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, this project reviewed the nature of awards for housing design in England and considered the extent to which involvement of house builders and designers in the awards has influenced the quality of housing being developed in the nation.Building for Life: Wales
Funded by the Design Commission for Wales, the work has involved researching recent best practice in residential design in Wales. Case studies will be used to illustrate to developers and local authorities what can and should be achieved. More details can be found at the DCfW Case Studies webpage.
Introduction to Residential Layout
Published by the Architectural Press, this book outlines the key theories and principles which should be applied in the design of residential areas using examples from the US, UK, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany and Austria.
An international review of liveable street thinking and practice
Building on my interests relating to liveability and street design I have been working with international colleagues to produce a special edition of Urban Design International which looks at current thinking and practices relating to the theme.Design Quality Brokerage
Employed by a UK urban regeneration company, I am advising upon and reviewing an innovative approach to securing design quality in major urban regeneration schemes.
Urban Design and the UK Urban Renaissance: The Liverpool Experience
Coordinated by Prof John Punter, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and supported by CABE, Design Commission for Wales and Architecture and Design Scotland, I was one of a number of academics doing research into the the impact of urban design on the development of a UK city during the last 15 years. My work focussed on the renewal that has occurred in and around Liverpool city centre. The work was published in Punter J V, Urban Design and the British Urban Renaissance, and as an extended article "Urban design, regeneration and the entrepreneurial city" in Progress in Planning.
Life in Their Street: Observation Studies of Innovative Street Environments
Funded by the UK's Urban Design Group Research Initiative this research used observation methods to look at patterns of life in innovative streets which comply with the new guidance in The Manual for Streets. The research looked at 6 innovative residential environments across the UK and compared them with 3 traditional environments. The work was done during the summer holidays when the children were at home. The work explored whether residents use the environments differently, how and why. In some instances the work employed time lapse cameras to record activity. The work found that the new environments were used differently, with evidence of more children's play and some more socialisation by adults.
An example from the work can be found at Planning Blog - playing it safe.Presentation to the Urban Design Group Conference, October 2011.