The quality of design of housing in Scotland and the rise of “anonymous” suburbs is to be examined in a new project led by Dundee University.
Scotland’s housing is to expand significantly over the next 15 years, with key population increases of upwards of 20% planned for Perth and Kinross and Aberdeenshire.
Perth is to expand to the west, with land identified for housing in Cherrybank, Broxden and other locations. Kinross is also a candidate for growth as the Edinburgh commuter belt stretches north.
In Dundee, the western gateway project is intended to create a better balance of housing around the city after the sprouting of new developments along the A92 to the east.
Professor Graeme Hutton, head of architecture and planning at Dundee University, said: “The Scottish Government has already outlined its commitment to improving the quality of the built environment.
“Yet no evidence exists to unequivocally prove the policy statement has had any demonstrable impact on the everyday physical quality of the architecture and environment being presented to the public.
“In particular, the continued acceleration of anonymous but market-friendly volume house building estates across Scotland suggests the development of the suburbs has largely escaped critical scrutiny.
“Our project will seek to redress the issues by prioritising architectural design… as the focus of a study to raise the ambition and future direction of suburban housing provision in Scotland.”
The study is led by Dundee University with contributions from Glasgow School of Art, the universities of Edinburgh and Strathclyde, estate agents Rettie and Co and the Technical University Delft in the Netherlands.