Design principles

4B.1 Design principles for a compact city

The Mayor will, and boroughs should, seek to ensure that developments should:

• maximise the potential of sites
• promote high quality inclusive design and create or enhance the public realm
• contribute to adaptation to, and mitigation of, the effects of climate change
• respect local context, history, built heritage, character and communities
• provide for or enhance a mix of uses
• be accessible, usable and permeable for all users
• be sustainable, durable and adaptable in terms of design, construction and use (see Chapter 4A)
• address security issues and provide safe, secure and sustainable environments (policy 4B.6)
• be practical and legible
• be attractive to look at and, where appropriate, inspire, excite and delight
• respect the natural environment and biodiversity, and enhance green networks and the Blue Ribbon Network
• address health inequalities (policy 3A.23).

These principles should be used in assessing planning applications and in drawing up area planning frameworks and DPD policies. Design and access statements showing how they have been incorporated should be submitted with proposals to illustrate their impacts.