Centres and Institutes

Architecture Research Institute, Inc.

http://www.architect.org/institute/



The Architecture Research Institute promotes cross-disciplinary research in design and urban planning that informs public policies and strategies that create livable, compact, global cities that are eco-sustainable, walkable and less automobile dependent. The Institute implements its work by creating strategic and interdisciplinary partnerships between academia, practitioners, governments, corporations and the public. This site, hosted as part of the Architect.org portal, covers the mission, background and organisation of the Institute, together with a well-illustrated projects archive, membership information, and publications list. [GAS, 20 Jun 2006].



ENTRY NUMBER: arc-010402-02
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States
PRIMARY GATEWAY LISTING: Architecture » Research
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CASA - Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis

http://www.casa.ucl.ac.uk/




This site describes CASA's research work in measuring, modelling and visualising the built environment. The Centre's background is in the use of computers and models in planning using contemporary techniques such as GIS, decision support systems, various kinds of mathematical models, geodemographics and visualisation. CASA's focus, and the purpose of its site, is to "make all this intelligible and communicable to less expert users than ourselves". Visually, the site gets off to an excellent start by presenting visitors with an attractive and logical interface; the home page offers up-to-date snippets of news, while clearly labelled sections provide more in depth material. An extensive 'Research' section allows users to browse by theme or project; 'People' provides informative profiles of all the CASA staff; and 'Publications' features over 70 freely downloadable (PDF format) working papers. The discussion forum, however, appears to no longer work, which is disappointing. Overall, however, CASA's site can be judged a resounding success - the Centre sets out to make its research "intelligible and communicable" and does just that, creating a site that is attractive to look at and a pleasure to navigate. Add in its rich, up-to-date content, and CASA's site is quite possibly the best university site Sapling has reviewed - truly an excellent resource. Awarded a Sapling Commendation. [GAS, 24 Aug 2005].



ENTRY NUMBER: pla-270804-05
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
PRIMARY GATEWAY LISTING: Planning » Research
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Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research

http://www.ccsr.ac.uk/



CCSR is an interdisciplinary research centre in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Manchester. The Centre's research features analysis of census and survey data with respect to social and economic outcomes; the life-course, based on analysis of complex longitudinal studies; locality based studies; and methodological research relating to census and survey data. The site has information about the Centre's staff, publications (some of which can usefully be downloaded in Word or Acrobat format) and postgraduate programmes, plus a reasonably detailed and illustrated section covering its research projects. [GAS, 5 Aug 2006].



ENTRY NUMBER: pla-010701-01
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
PRIMARY GATEWAY LISTING: Planning » Research
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The Center for the Study of the Built Environment

http://www.csbe.org/



The Center for the Study of the Built Environment (CSBE) is a non-profit, private study and research institution that aims to address the challenges that affect the built environment in Jordan and beyond. CSBE is an interdisciplinary centre that addresses areas including environmental studies, urban design and planning, conservation, architecture, landscape architecture, and construction technologies, engaging in a variety of activities - including research projects, print and digital publishing, workshops, and the design and implementation of pilot projects - in order to accomplish its goals. The site is attractively designed, with sections covering news (albeit only up to 2004), activities, links, and an excellent page of e-publications. [GAS, 23 Aug 2005].



ENTRY NUMBER: urb-240104-03
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Jordan
PRIMARY GATEWAY LISTING: Urban Design » Research
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Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR)

http://www.shu.ac.uk/cresr/



The Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR) at Sheffield Hallam Univeristy is a well established research institute undertaking research and consultancy activities in a number of areas, including housing policy, urban policy, social and economic regeneration, labour market studies, gender studies, transport policy, planning and community studies. CRESR's site is excellent, featuring full coverage of the Centre's projects and publications, with many documents available to download. [MG/RS/GAS, 3 May 2006].



ENTRY NUMBER: hou-220799-01
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
PRIMARY GATEWAY LISTING: Housing » Research
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Centre for Regional Economic Development

http://www.cumbria.ac.uk/AboutUs/Faculties/FacultyofBSSS/Ourschool/SBE/Research/CRED/



The Centre for Regional Economic Development (CRED) was founded in 1996 and is part of the University of Cumbria's Business School in Carlisle. According to its site, "CRED conducts academic and commercial research around the broad theme of economic development. We work in partnership with many of the councils, agencies and other organisations responsible for the economic development of the county of Cumbria, but also engage in research at regional, national and international levels". The site is an informative resource, with sections covering news, staff, academic publications, research projects and seminars. Visitors can also view past and present issues of the Cumbria Economic Bulletin, download a series of documents offering a brief overview of the Cumbrian economy, and access CRED reports via the 'Download' section. A helpful links page features links relating to the University, Cumbria, relevant government departments and statistical services. [GAS, 22 Jan 2008].



ENTRY NUMBER: pla-110905-05
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
PRIMARY GATEWAY LISTING: Planning » Research
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Centre for Urban and Regional Studies (CURS)

http://www.curs.bham.ac.uk/



The Centre for Urban and Regional Studies (CURS), a Department in the School of Public Policy at the University of Birmingham, describes itself as "a leading international centre for research and teaching in housing, regional and local economic development, urban policy and regional and urban regeneration", combining "the worlds of practice, research and education". The CURS site provides an introduction to the Centre's main areas of expertise, together with details of undergraduate, postgraduate and research degrees, and a series of informative staff profiles. Elsewhere, a useful 'department information' section provides details of the Centre's research activities, networks and publications. Overall, the site is quite comprehensive, though it would benefit from more images to help relieve the textiness. [GAS, 7 Jul 2006].



ENTRY NUMBER: pla-270804-01
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
PRIMARY GATEWAY LISTING: Planning » Research
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Centre for Urban Development and Environmental Management (CUDEM)

http://www.leedsmet.ac.uk/as/cudem/



Part of the School of the Built Environment at Leeds Metropolitan University, CUDEM was formed in 1989, with its origin in planning courses first run in Leeds seventy years ago. It provides "a dynamic interdisciplinary environment engaged in high quality academic inquiry and policy-related research", while "in recent years the knowledge base has diversified into an integrated set of courses and research programmes around spatial, environmental, governance and regeneration themes". The site is relatively small but well-designed, with sections covering CUDEM's research themes, seminars, staff (including informative bibliographies and publication lists), research students, and major research projects. [GAS, 7 Jul 2006].



ENTRY NUMBER: pla-030904-02
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
PRIMARY GATEWAY LISTING: Planning » Research
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Centre for Urban History

http://www.le.ac.uk/urbanhist/



Based at the University of Leicester, the Centre for Urban History describes itself as "Europe's leading centre for the study of urban history". The site provides details of the taughts Masters and research degrees offered by the Centre, together with an informative research and publications section. A helpful resources area features staff profiles and details of useful online resources. [GAS, 2 Mar 2006].



ENTRY NUMBER: pla-270804-03
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
PRIMARY GATEWAY LISTING: Planning » Research
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Centre of Urban Planning and Environmental Management (CUPEM)

http://www.hku.hk/cupem/



The Centre of Urban Planning and Environmental Management (CUPEM) at Hong Kong University was established in 1980 to act as a focal point for urban research in the University of Hong Kong and to provide postgraduate training at the masters and doctoral levels. The nicely-designed site has up-to-date information about the Centre, people, degrees, events, research and publications, plus an excellent worldwide links section. [GAS, 24 Aug 2006].



ENTRY NUMBER: pla-090603-01
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Hong Kong
PRIMARY GATEWAY LISTING: Planning » Research
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Dataspring

http://www.dataspring.org.uk/




Dataspring is a research unit within the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research (CCHPR), Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge. According to the site, Dataspring boasts "a team of dedicated researchers and analysts in-house but also utilises the wider range of research skills available within the Centre and beyond. These resources enable us to respond to the data and research needs of our clients, which include the Housing Corporation, housing associations, and local and central government". Dataspring maintains a range of housing markets databases with data at district, regional and national level, and its site features free online access to a selection of social housing data, including housing association stock from the RSR (Regulatory and Statistical Return) data and rents from the Housing Corporation Guide to Local Rents at a variety of geographical levels. The site also includes staff profiles, details of Dataspring's projects, an outputs section full of downloadable documents, and a series of links to Dataspring's funders and other recommended sites. Recently redesigned, the site now provides an array of interesting content within an attractive and intuitive interface. Awarded a Sapling Commendation. [GAS, 8 May 2006].



ENTRY NUMBER: hou-241102-03
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
PRIMARY GATEWAY LISTING: Housing » Research
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Global Urban Research Unit (GURU)

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/guru/



Based at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, GURU describes itself as "a major new force in global urban research", and incorporates the three former urban research centres in the University's School of Architecture Planning and Landscape: CARDO, CREUE and CUT. The GURU site uses colour-coding to distinguish the new unit's four research themes - Territorial Governance and Spatial Planning; Cities and International Development; Neighbourhood Diversity and Social Inclusion; and Urban Technology Design and Development. The site's content includes up-to-date news and events; information about each theme; details of people, projects and publications; and an excellent section of downloadable 'Electronic Working Papers'. The site has a reasonable appearance, but the main site uses frames (four of them, no less), and is quite confusing to navigate. Equally, the colour coding and profileration of GURU logos is rather manic in places. Happily, a no frames version, with the same content but fewer logos, is also provided. [GAS, 7 Jul 2006].



ENTRY NUMBER: pla-210503-02
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
PRIMARY GATEWAY LISTING: Planning » Research
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Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS) - Urbanisation, Culture et Société

http://www.inrs-ucs.uquebec.ca/




Based at the University of Québec, the 'Urbanisation, Culture et Societé' Centre houses a team of thirty full-time social scientists (professors/ researchers) working on a wide range of issues. The major research areas are: cities and regions; population; and culture, science and technology. The Centre's website is clearly organised, and gives a very professional appearance. The default language is French, but complete English and Spanish versions are also available. In addition to news and information about the Centre, its staff, and its research areas, the site features a useful publications section (with research reports and working papers available to download in PDF format), and an excellent selection of online tools and databases relating to the Centre's work. Awarded a Sapling Commendation. [GAS, 22 Feb 2007].



ENTRY NUMBER: pla-010402-01
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada
PRIMARY GATEWAY LISTING: Planning » Research
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International Centre for Planning Research

http://www.cf.ac.uk/cplan/icpr/



Part of the School of City and Regional Planning (CPLAN) at Cardiff University, the International Centre for Planning Research (ICPR) is "an umbrella organisation for all the research in the department and one of its prime duties is to promote the international role and image of CPLAN as a world class planning school, including the management of CPLAN's international links". Recently updated after a long period of not much happening, the ICPR pages include an intriduction to the Centre, and details of its aims, research programmes, lectures in China and visiting scholars. [GAS, 8 Nov 2005].



ENTRY NUMBER: pla-231000-03
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
PRIMARY GATEWAY LISTING: Planning » Research
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Local Economic Policy Unit (LEPU)

http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/lepu/



The Local Economic Policy Unit (LEPU) at London South Bank University provides research and consultancy to both organisations and businesses in the social policy and built environment sector, and is "committed to engaging the practitioner community to foster effective local economic development". The design of LEPU's website is clean and intuitive, with sections covering news, staff, links, and the Unit's extensive programme of regular seminar and Masterclass events. Pages devoted to 'Research and Consultancy' and 'Project Experience' offer a helpful introduction to LEPU's areas of work, though it would be useful if these sections could be expanded to include more detailed project summaries or downloadable reports. [GAS, 7 Jul 2006].



ENTRY NUMBER: reg-060306-01
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
PRIMARY GATEWAY LISTING: Regeneration » Research
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Metropolitan Design Center

http://www.designcenter.umn.edu/




Formerly known as the Design Center for American Urban Landscape, the Metropolitan Design Center (MDC) describes itself as "an endowed centre that investigates how design can be used to make the metropolitan landscape more livable and sustainable. It examines urban design across metropolitan areas through projects, research, and education. The Center's work involves collaborations with faculty, nonprofits, and civic groups in the areas of metropolitan development, metropolitan green space, housing and active and healthy cities". The site is a rich and interesting resource - it includes extensive background about the Center, an excellent projects section with lots of photographs and downloadable PDF material, and an impressive 'reference centre' - this includes links to research, educational materials and information at the Design Center and other organisations, as well as useful resources such as downloadable Design Center publications, links to sources for information and events, and a great range of 'livable community fact sheets'. On top of all this, the site also features a terrific Image Bank - this is a searchable, downloadable database of approximately 20,000 Design Center images of the metropolitan landscape, including many low-level oblique aerial photos, and focusing on the Twin Cities area of Minnesota where the Center is based. Overall, the amount of quality material available on this site is staggering - truly a first class resource. Awarded a Sapling Commendation. [GAS, 4 Apr 2007].



ENTRY NUMBER: urb-230805-01
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States
PRIMARY GATEWAY LISTING: Urban Design » Research
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Spatial Development Research Unit

http://estia.arch.auth.gr/



The Spatial Development Research Unit is based in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, "supporting activities of academic and more generally of scientific character that promote the production and diffusion of knowledge, [and] the exchange of experience". The site includes information about the Centre's people, research, lectures, and news and activities, plus a very good page of urban-related links. It is available in Flash and HTML versions, in either Greek or English. [GAS, 17 Aug 2005].



ENTRY NUMBER: pla-311002-02
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Greece
PRIMARY GATEWAY LISTING: Planning » Research
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Sustainable Cities Research Institute

http://www.sustainable-cities.org.uk/




Based at Northumbria University, the Sustainable Cities Research Institute "aims to develop and promote sustainable approaches to urban living". The site is attractive and well laid-out, featuring information about the Institute (such as staff details and a policy statement), an up-to-date news section, and comprehensive details of current projects and forthcoming events. An excellent publications page includes links to the full text of most documents. The links section is also good, with particular focus on partners and projects, governmental sites, and research institutions. Many of the university research sites reviewed by Sapling are poorly maintained or lacking in real content, so it is refreshing to see a site which is obviously well-maintained and packed with really useful information. Awarded a Sapling Commendation. [GAS, 23 Aug 2005].



ENTRY NUMBER: sus-241103-01
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
PRIMARY GATEWAY LISTING: Sustainability » Research
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Taub Urban Research Center

http://urban.nyu.edu/



The Taub Urban Research Center at New York University's Wagner School explores issues and challenges affecting cities and metropolitan regions. The Center issues reports and conducts forums that include participants from government, business, nonprofit organisations and the academic community. As well as information about the Center and its staff, this reasonably attractive site has an impressive archive of research reports available to download, plus a useful section of planning-related links. [GAS, 7 Jul 2006].



ENTRY NUMBER: pla-270701-02
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States
PRIMARY GATEWAY LISTING: Planning » Research
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University of Newcastle upon Tyne - School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape (APL)

http://www.apl.ncl.ac.uk/



The Newcastle School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape (APL) brings together the previous Departments of Architecture and Town and Country Planning, and seeks "to build on its teaching and research excellence in developing an innovative, multidisciplinary approach to researching and teaching all aspects of architecture, planning, urban design, digital architecture, urban conservation and landscape architecture". Recently redesigned with a much warmer interface than previously, the site features up-to-date news from the School, together with information about courses, research and staff. [GAS, 7 Jul 2006].



ENTRY NUMBER: arc-231000-01
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
PRIMARY GATEWAY LISTING: Architecture » Education
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University of Nottingham - School of the Built Environment

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/sbe/



Nottingham's School of the Built Environment combines the Institutes of Architecture, Building Technology and Urban Planning with the newly created Institute of Sustainable Energy Technology (ISET); the School as a whole is described as a "leading centre for research and teaching with excellent facilities and a wide range of research programmes". The site features information about the School and its courses, plus details of news, events, staff and research, all within a neat - if slightly dry - interface. [GAS, 3 Jun 2006].



ENTRY NUMBER: pla-220101-06
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
PRIMARY GATEWAY LISTING: Planning » Education
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University of Reading - Centre of Planning Studies (CoPS)

http://www.rdg.ac.uk/cops/



Reading's Centre of Planning Studies (CoPS) describes itself as "an inter-departmental Centre which is based in the Department of Real Estate & Planning but which draws expertise from a range of other Departments in order to deliver a high quality programme of under-graduate and post-graduate courses in town and country planning". The site offers information about courses, research and staff, as well as up-to-date news and events, and a small but worthwhile page of links. The site itself is neatly designed, and easy to navigate. [GAS, 9 Sep 2006].



ENTRY NUMBER: pla-020603-03
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
PRIMARY GATEWAY LISTING: Planning » Education
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University of Sheffield - Department of Town and Regional Planning

http://www.shef.ac.uk/trp/



This site offers all the usual information about the department, courses, research and staff, together with a few related links, and a reasonably up-to-date news section. Links to relevant material elsewhere on the University site also feature, while brochures for undergraduate, postgraduate and research degrees are available to download in PDF format. [GAS, 8 Nov 2005].



ENTRY NUMBER: pla-020603-02
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
PRIMARY GATEWAY LISTING: Planning » Education
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University of the West of England - School of Planning & Architecture

http://www.built-environment.uwe.ac.uk/schools/pa/



Part of UWE's Faculty of the Built Environment, The School of Planning & Architecture desc