Valuing urban layout

What is i-VALUL?

i-VALUL is a project that shows, in an evidence-based way, how physical and spatial design factors influence urban value, both social and economic. Space Syntax has developed “UrbanValue”, a suite of software tools that value the effects of urban layouts on social and economic outcomes including crime patterns and land values.

The outputs of i-VALUL provide planners, designers and community members with tools to overcome barriers that currently exclude layout factors from being objectively assessed in terms of their social and economic value impacts. Applicable at all scales, from regional to local analysis, the tools are supported by training programmes and materials.

One of the largest projects in the UrbanBuzz programme, i-VALUL is led by Space Syntax and brings together over 20 public, private, higher education and voluntary sector organisations, including The Home Office, CABE, SEEDA, EEDA, UEL, UCL, GLA Economics, Savills Research, CBuchanan and JMP.

The findings of i-VALUL have applications in five main areas:

Town centre vitality
Town centres have a critical social and economic role to play and the layout of town centres can enhance or diminish this role. Town centres are expected to make major contributions to sustainable economic growth and prosperity, environmental sustainability, delivery of affordable homes and social cohesion. i-VALUL shows how, in environmental terms, well laid out town centres reduce the need for travel and promote local activity.
Partners
CABE, CBuchanan, JMP, UCL

Street quality
i-VALUL builds on the findings of the CABE study, “Paved with Gold”, which found that higher street quality could add 5% to property values and retail rents. i-VALUL demonstrates that the quality of any street is related to the quality of the street network layout in which it sits.
Partners
CABE, CBuchanan, JMP, UCL

Residential property value
Street layout, in particular the spatial accessibility of a street, is a key factor affecting residential property value.
Partners
Savills Research, UCL

Residential security
Good residential street layout design could reduce the risk of burglary and save a total social cost of more than £8,000 per household over the life cycle.
Partners
UCL, The Home Office

Personal safety
Good residential street layout design could improve safety by reducing robbery in town centres and save a total social cost of more than £9,000 per household over the life cycle.
Partners
UCL, The Home Office

Who benefits from i-VALUL?

The findings of i-VALUL support the case for improving street layout design and provide evidence of the likely economic returns to be gained from investing in high-quality residential and town centre street layouts. The new tools that i-VALUL has created will help to identify public sector development priorities, offering private sector investors a greater level of confidence and a more secure framework in which to invest.

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