Urban Design

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Urban Design is the process of understanding and shaping the built environment, combining the skills of different disciplines to produce well-informed masterplans and planning advice. It involves the design of buildings, streets, landscapes, and the public domain, while working out how all of these elements fit together.

Good urban design ensures that the different parts of a city support each other, as the design of a place will influence how we experience it, and determine where we want to live, visit, and work. This could mean creating safer streets that draw people to local businesses, ensuring housing is close to shops and services, and locating parks where they’re useable and safe.

Advocating for better urban design involves providing guidance in the planning process and requiring a high standard of design in new development. Camden is a fast-growing Council, and design plays a crucial role in making sure our new suburbs support the needs of residents and remain thriving and sustainable into the future.

Camden Council is committed to good urban design and creating places where people want to live, with growth that respects our environment, rich history, and rural character.

Urban Design Key Considerations

Urban design helps shape the quality and character of our cities, which is determined by how the built environment is structured and organised. Features of the built environment include:

  • Lots: The size and location of lots are used to create different streetscapes, building types, and densities. Masterplans are prepared to organise the structure of new developments or improve the layout of existing suburbs.
  • Building height and form: A building’s size affects the character of a street and may impact views or sunlight access. Development controls are created to limit heights and produce different building forms.
  • Land use: Vibrant cities contain a mix of uses, allowing services, amenities, and employment to be found in one place. Planning for the right mix of uses ensures a place is attractive to visitors and businesses, and convenient for residents.
  • Interfaces: An interface is where a building meets the public domain, allowing for movement and visibility between indoors and outdoors. Good interfaces provide vibrancy and activity to streets and public spaces.
  • Public domain: Parks, plazas, and streets make up the public domain, the spaces we share and the foundation of a city’s vibrancy. Ensuring these areas are accessible, safe, and have the right mix of uses and users is crucial to their success.
  • Country: Whilst not itself a feature of the built environment, Country is everywhere in the landscape and encompasses the land, water, sky, and cultural identity of Aboriginal peoples. Good urban design retains and celebrates elements of Country.

Useful Resources

Access the following links for more information: