That 'A96 Corridor Development Sunset'; Part 2

One of the main features of the development proposals for the 'A96 Corridor' was to be a 'New Town', (now 4950 units, built out over the years to 2046), adjacent to both the existing hamlet of Tornagrain (the overall plans indicate that the very last phases of this 'New Town'  would be built near to Tornagrain) and the 'Inverness Airport Business Park'.  Well, Outline Planning has already been given and as you will have noted from previous posts a detailed planning application for a small number of units is in the pipeline.

This 'New Town' was recognised as an 'Exemplar' under the Government's 'Scottish Sustainable Communities Initiative', SSCI*.  According to a short video, available on the Scottish Gov's planning web pages, the Town will be built '...using a combination of traditional town planning principles with the concepts of New Urbanism, NU'.

But a reading of this recent post, 'The New, New Urbanism' has left me confused as to which 'concepts' of NU will be applied.

In this article in 'Estates Review' the Managing Director of Moray Estates -  the 'New Town' Development Company and landowners - stated that the 'New Town', '...has been designed according to the principles of New Urbanism' and the MD records that Andres Duany and his practice were appointed in Sept 2006 to run design workshops  for the 'New Town', which were much trumpeted 'public' events.  

Mr Duany is a co-founder and emeritus board member of the Congress for the New Urbanism, CNU and is described in the above mentioned blog post as '...arguably the most influential member of the Congress of the New Urbanism...'. He has also took a prominent role within the Scottish Government's 'SSCI Charrette Series' in 2010.

The blog post describes how Mr Duany 'fell on his sword'.  He has apparently proclaimed that his, “heavy, armored brigade” idea of urbanism (ie: the rules, guides, and strict formulas) has become irrelevant.  The blog post seems to say that Mr Duany thought that 5 years ago he had it made, he always had the answers when people came to him and never acted in doubt; and notes that he (Mr Duany) has since taken a year of study and reflection to determine the future of planning and New Urbanism - which should now be, according to the blog, 'Lean. Guerilla. Incremental. Vernacular. Tactical.'.  Mr Duany '...identified two conditions that should dramatically shift the practice of all planners and urban designers: pervasive impoverishment and the psychological shifts of impending climate change.'  So, now, NU needs to take a more minimal approach.  

One of the most interesting things to learn from reading the blog post was that the author, herself a well qualified Urban Designer, felt that;

"Many critics of Andrés Duany might immediately comment on the fact that it is very convenient for the New Urbanist to change his tune after he’s gained his fortune, fame, and elite professional status. Fair point. However, from the inside as someone who has a fair and balanced judgement of the CNU organization (after all, Duany is just one man,) the most exciting thing about his revelation and wishes for the future of New Urbanism, is that they make the movement more relevant and applicable, while in turn, refute it’s major criticisms."

"...the criticisms of the movement that have irked me the most, were based on what he (Mr Duany) created and defended. I’ve written about the criticisms of New Urbanism, but they are well known: over-priced product, green field developments, a traditional architecture rut, and a lack of understanding of the reality of retail.


So where does this leave the basis for the plans for the 'New Town' near Tornagrain I ask myself?  What kind of future will there be for the major central development of the A96 Corridor proposals? Where does this leave the faith that the Scottish Government and many Scottish Planners seem to have put into Mr Duany's 'old' view of 'New Urbanism'?  I really do think it is reasonable to ask these questions and to reasonably ponder on the future of developments which are based on a potentially 'outdated' model of New Urbanism.



[*Extract, Scottish Government web pages: 'The Scottish Sustainable Communities Initiative(SSCI) was launched in June 2008 to encourage the creation of places, designed and built to last, where a high quality of life can be achieved. Local authorities, landowners, the development industry and others were invited to submit proposals which demonstrated ambition in addressing a number of principles.']