Most of the professional training, thinking and strategies of architects, urban designers and planners, are strictly three-dimensional. In reality of course the city is four dimensional, and one needs to acknowledge the influence of time in planning and design strategies. Similarly, there has been relatively little analysis of the importance of interim, short-term or 'meanwhile' activities in urban areas. In an era of increasing pressure on scarce resources, we cannot wait for long-term solutions to vacancy or dereliction. Instead, we need to view temporary uses as increasingly legitimate...

Most of the professional training, thinking and strategies of architects, urban designers and planners, are strictly three-dimensional. In reality of course the city is four dimensional, and one needs to acknowledge the influence of time in planning and design strategies. Similarly, there has been relatively little analysis of the importance of interim, short-term or meanwhile activities in urban areas. In an era of increasing pressure on scarce resources, we cannot wait for long-term solutions to vacancy or dereliction. Instead, we need to view temporary uses as increasingly legitimate...

Whilst there is extensive literature analysing the design and function of new buildings and places, the actual process through which development proposals are actually fashioned through complex negotiation and deal making, involving many different stakeholders with different agendas is largely undocumented. Conventional planning theory tends to assume a logical, rational and linear decision-making process, which bears little relationship to reality. This book aims to shed some light on that reality. The King s Cross scheme is one of the largest and most complex developments taking place in...