22375H urban design MASTER:22375H urban design MASTER
2 appreciating the context
01/08/2007
10:23
Page 30
2.5 feasibility
The feasibility of a project, both in economic and practical terms, requires an
assessment of:
• community need;
• market supply and demand;
• funding sources;
• site capacity;
• land ownership, assembly and tenure;
• integration with surrounding context;
• construction costs;
• engineering constraints;
• local planning policy context.
The proposals will need to relate to their location and context, and will vary
with the type of project, whether infill, brownfield, urban extension or
regeneration. Appropriateness is the key; a highly urban solution will not be
appropriate on a suburban edge-of-town site, and vice versa.
Urban design studies for the Greenwich Peninsula have
had to address a wide range of engineering constraints
An early assessment of the factors likely to affect a project’s feasibility will
form the basis for preliminary designs and testing. These will then require
continual iteration and re-evaluation. Table 2.5 provides an inventory of
considerations for undertaking an economic appraisal and feasibility review.
Sketches such as this can help evaluate urban capacity potential
Table 2.5 Feasibility appraisal inventory
Subject area
Considerations
Market
• Existing feasibility studies
• Ownership and tenure
• Current development pressures
• Supply and demand (in relation to competition,
socio-economic profile, regional context etc.)
• Cost
• Funding sources (public/private/partnership)
• Grant regimes
Engineering
• Existing services and utilities
• Existing obstructions (such as foundations and basements)
• Major constraints (such as culverts or gas mains)
• Ground conditions (such as contamination and subsidence)
• Geology
• Archeological investigation
• Drainage
• Man-made structures (such as bridges / roads)
• Requirements of other bodies (such as utilities)
30
urban design compendium
0
