URBAN CHARACTER Case Study: Kensington Banks
“We find that in this estate particularly there’s not a lot of character … it doesn’t have that interaction we’re looking for … there’s not that feeling.”
Kensington Banks is an inner-urban housing development constructed in stages during the 1990s and 2000s, on the site of a former abattoir. It’s design was driven by the ideal of a walkable 'urban village' influenced by the ideas of 'new urbanism'. This is a public/private partnership project driven by public interests such as community participation, sustainability, diversity, walkability, affordability and open space—all strongly mediated by market imperatives. Key design ideas included relatively low-rise small-grain development and a diversity of house types fronting generous open space. The 'character' is formed through the intersections of these often contradictory values and imperatives. The park is lined with housing that 'faces' the park yet is entered from the 'rear'; back lanes lined with garages have become the main entries while the 'fronts' become symbolic. The desire for walkability has led to a labyrinthine layout where visitors are easily lost and strangled car flows produce traffic jams in peak hour. The ideals of the urban 'village' have been deployed at a density too low for shops or public transport—the 'village green' without the village.