Component A: Assignment Brief
Assignment Brief
Component A: Guiding principles for the delivery of a sustainable development
The assessment for this module has one component, worth 100% of the overall mark for the module.
You work for a developer submitting a proposal to the local (or municipal) authority outlining your vision for the development of a brownfield site. The local authority has specified that the development must be sustainable and has asked you to submit six guiding principles for the development.
You should select a brownfield site in a town centre/city centre/built-up area of your choice. The development must be appropriate for the site in question and must be more than a single building. The following criteria should be used to select a site:
- Is it a brownfield site (i.e. has it been developed in the past, it could be vacant, abandoned or derelict at the moment; it may or many not be contaminated)?
- Is it in an existing urban area (i.e. surrounded on all sides by existing development)? It can be anywhere in the world.
- Is it large enough to accommodate more than a single building with a use or uses appropriate for the area?
- If you are proposing housing; is it large enough to accommodate housing at an appropriate density for the area with space for any necessary facilities and amenities? For example: 40 dwellings per ha it should be at least 2.5 ha, at 80 dwellings per ha it should be at least 1.25 ha.
- Is it available for development now (i.e. is vacant, derelict, abandoned, underused)? If it is in use you can check whether it is allocated for development (e.g. Strategic Assessment of Land Availability).
- Using your learning from the module, do you think it is a suitable location for a sustainable development?
- IF YOU HAVE ANSWERED NO TO ANY OF THESE QUESTIONS YOU MUST FIND ANOTHER SITE.
Please note that if the site you have selected has planning permission we strongly advise that you DO NOT look at the application as the work needs to be your own (and it may not be sustainable!). If construction has started you cannot use the site as it needs to be available for development.
You need to provide a short introduction setting out:
- A brief description of the site and a map showing its location;
- Basic information about the surrounding area (e.g. transport connections, amenities, land uses);
- What you propose to develop on the site and why (e.g. land uses, types of dwelling, how this responds to policy and local need), with a basic site plan.
Then set out the six guiding principles that your development will adhere to. Each guiding principle should include the following information:
- A short title for the guiding principle (i.e. what is it trying to achieve);
- A brief description of why this guiding principle is important, for example:
- Background to the problem or challenge the principle aims to address through this development;
- Why this guiding principle is necessary to achieve a sustainable built environment;
- How the guiding principle meets key legislation, guidance and/or targets;
- Information on how this guiding principle will be achieved through your proposed development;
- How your development could be measured or accredited to demonstrate that this guiding principle has been achieved;
- Any limitations to the inclusion of this guiding principle.
You will provide a brief report (maximum 3000 words, supplemented with a range of illustrative graphics, images, diagrams etc.). See Word Count Policy. Please do not include an executive summary, contents page or material in appendices.
Component A should be submitted as a PDF. This limit includes all words in the main body of the work including those in headings, captions, tables and figures. Marking will cease after 3000 words have been reached. A reference list should be provided; the guiding principles should be supported with relevant academic references. The reference list is not included in the word limit.
The text should be supplemented with tables, figures, graphs, photographs, maps and other visual material to provide the context for the development, justify the selection of guiding principles and give an impression of what the development will look like. These should be properly attributed using UWE Bristol Harvard, captioned and referred to in the text. See the guide to referencing - Study skills for more information.
There is no set requirement for margins, font size or style but the report should be professional in its look, feel and tone.
Marking criteria are provided in the Module Handbook, which is in the Module Information folder.
Component A should be submitted via Blackboard by 2pm on 6th May 2022.
Students who are required to resit a component of the assessment will be required to do so on 2nd August 2022. The resit component is the same as that detailed above for Component A.