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
BSRIA Statutory Compliance Inspection Checklist
BG80/2025 now significantly updated to include requirements related to important changes in legislation.
Shortlist for the 2025 Roofscape Design Awards
Talent and innovation showcase announcement from the trussed rafter industry.
OpenUSD possibilities: Look before you leap
Being ready for the OpenUSD solutions set to transform architecture and design.
Global Asbestos Awareness Week 2025
Highlighting the continuing threat to trades persons.
Retrofit of Buildings, a CIOB Technical Publication
Now available in Arabic and Chinese aswell as English.
The context, schemes, standards, roles and relevance of the Building Safety Act.
Retrofit 25 – What's Stopping Us?
Exhibition Opens at The Building Centre.
Types of work to existing buildings
A simple circular economy wiki breakdown with further links.
A threat to the creativity that makes London special.
How can digital twins boost profitability within construction?
The smart construction dashboard, as-built data and site changes forming an accurate digital twin.
Unlocking surplus public defence land and more to speed up the delivery of housing.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill
An outline of the bill with a mix of reactions on potential impacts from IHBC, CIEEM, CIC, ACE and EIC.
Farnborough College Unveils its Half-house for Sustainable Construction Training.
Spring Statement 2025 with reactions from industry
Confirming previously announced funding, and welfare changes amid adjusted growth forecast.
Scottish Government responds to Grenfell report
As fund for unsafe cladding assessments is launched.
CLC and BSR process map for HRB approvals
One of the initial outputs of their weekly BSR meetings.
Building Safety Levy technical consultation response
Details of the planned levy now due in 2026.
Great British Energy install solar on school and NHS sites
200 schools and 200 NHS sites to get solar systems, as first project of the newly formed government initiative.
600 million for 60,000 more skilled construction workers
Announced by Treasury ahead of the Spring Statement.