Tramways and Urban Transit February 2025June 2025 Reg Harman and Dr Nicholas Falk set out how the Labour Government can use light rail to connect up new settlements and make development truly sustainable. The UK currently lags far behind French cities. The contrast between Oxford and its twin city of Grenoble is particularly striking.
Harnessing towns and cities for better growth May 2024June 2025 The next UK government must tackle low productivity in our cities before it can make real progress on its vital mission to boost the UK’s miserable economic growth. Dr Nicholas Falk and Dr Richard Simmons explain how a ‘considered reset of how we do development’ could transform the economy and reinvigorate urban life.
Planning Rapid Transit for Urban Recovery April 2022June 2025 Dr Nicholas Falk argues that calls for greater equality or levelling up can never be met without long-overdue changes in the way that we plan and deliver local infrastructure projects.
Applying land value capture tools November 2020June 2025 How can communities harness the value of land to build better places? Some cities, notably in Northern Europe, have avoided the excesses of housing price inflation, congestion and pollution, and thereby kept land costs down. They have instead invested in making active travel and public transportation more attractive than an over-dependence on private cars. This paper summarises the theory of Land Value Capture (LVC) and its role in funding local infrastructure. Further references and examples are set out in Nicholas Falk’s policy paper for the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) with eleven recommendations for applying best practices in the UK.
Financing Metroisation October 2020June 2025 Dr Nicholas Falk discusses how fairer sharing of the uplift in land values resulting from transport infrastructure improvements, can be used to fund the projects themselves.
Oxford Metro October 2020June 2025 This report proposes an integrated transport system for the English city of Oxford that could reduce dependence on the private car and encourage active travel and better forms of public transport to serve a city-region with twice the current population. Such an integrated system could support implementation of the Local Industrial Strategy and increased productivity whilst meeting challenges of congestion, pollution and inclusivity. The report also includes recommendations on innovative financing which will be essential as national resources will be extremely stretched.
Urbanism Reviewed September 2020June 2025 A review of a series of 10 essays emphasising strategic, inclusive urban development, advocating for mixed-use, walkable neighbourhoods, sustainable land use, and learning from successful European cities. They highlight the importance of governance, social justice, and environmental balance to create resilient, vibrant, and equitable cities that foster community vitality and sustainable growth.
Transformative infrastructure and Levelling Up September 2020June 2025 Dr Nicholas Falk argues that we need to change direction in Urban Planning. It examines several European cities which have integrated transport and development and asks where finance could be obtained for similar “Smarter Urbanisation” projects in the UK, especially in the context of Levelling Up.
Sharing the Uplift in Land Values June 2020June 2025 A policy paper for the TCPA by Dr Nicholas Falk We must share the uplift in land values to build better neighbourhoods This paper assembles a mass of research, including plenty of insightful maps and charts, to offer fresh solutions.
Postcards from the Future: a journey over three continents December 2019June 2025 Over the past five years Nicholas Falk has visited many cities, often to take part in conferences or other events, and has generally produced a short essay accompanied by a selection of around ten images. These have now been compiled together, and some will reappear in a new book on how cities can change direction and make themselves more sustainable.
Growing Historic Cities September 2019July 2025 A symposium in Oxford’s Kellogg College drew members of the Historic Towns Forum ranging from St Albans to Wells and York, together with a large contingent from Oxford.The aim was to learn from success, and to debate the principles that would lead to sustainable or ‘smarter growth’ that does not outstrip infrastructure capacity. Presentations on Grenoble and Freiburg provided an international dimension, and Dr. Nicholas Falk, one of the co-organisers drew out lessons from four other European cities acclaimed by the Academy of Urbanism, including Montpellier and some Dutch examples.
Land for Housing February 2019June 2025 Where are the resources for building a better Britain to come from? This paper is a response to John Healey MP’s comprehensive report and consultation Housing for the Many
Oxford Central West Hand-out January 2019June 2025 This two-page graphic focusses on west Oxford-perhaps the most extraordinary underdeveloped area of any historic city. This area is crucial to the future of the city and the potential of the area will not be fully exploited unless the various planned developments are coordinated. The 200 acre site is currently a fragmented and largely forgotten part of the city. It is susceptible to flood and sliced up by the railway line, river and canal so that east/west movement is very difficult. Despite its proximity to the centre of Oxford it feels isolated. It should be one of the most valuable parts of the city but the constraints make development difficult.
Cambridgeshire Quality Charter January 2019June 2025 A contract from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority involved assessing the value of Design Review, the meaning of social cohesion, and the most practical way of assessing the performance of new communities. A refreshed version of this influential charter will be published.
Better Housing for the 21st Century January 2019June 2025 A report by The Academy of Urbanism on how the problems of the English housing market may be solved by learning from successful places.
