Place Value & the Ladder of Place Quality
What makes a good place—and how do we know?
Urban Good provided the design and editing for Place Value & the Ladder of Place Quality, a practical guide from Place Alliance, published with Design Network. Based on Professor Matthew Carmona’s research at UCL, it explores how the places we build affect our health, communities, economy and environment.
Making research useful
Published in 2019, the report brings together findings from 271 research studies. It looks beyond how places appear to consider how they work for the people who use them—from walking and access to green space to social connections and everyday comfort.
Our contribution was to help turn that evidence into an accessible publication, combining editing, graphic design and page layout to make the research easier to navigate and use.
The Ladder of Place Quality
At the heart of the report is a practical framework organised around four steps: Avoid, Beware, Aspire and Require. These distinguish between harmful place qualities, areas where evidence remains uncertain, and qualities associated with positive outcomes.
It gives planners, architects, councillors, developers and communities a shared starting point for discussing better places—and making the case for them.
Read and use the research
The report is available as a free PDF using the download button below. You can also:
Research: Professor Matthew Carmona, UCL / Place Alliance
Published by: Place Alliance and Design Network
Design and editing: Urban Good CIC
Published: March 2019