New research by Lancaster University will help ensure future urban developments are designed, built and embedded with care.

Dr Marianna Cavada, a Lecturer in Urban Design Policy at Lancaster University School of Architecture and part of the University’s ImaginationLancaster design laboratory, will lead Lancaster’s input for the ‘Caring with Cities’ research programme, funded by the British Academy, which seeks to find out what makes a good city.

Lancaster Civic Vision (the operating name of Lancaster Civic Society) have been invited to partner with the University on this project.

The ‘Caring with Cities’ study, which involves several other universities, aims to understand how care is embedded into community-led and policy-led urban development, the interface between the two and the potential for designing ‘care’ into future urban policy at a systemic level.

The research aims to develop a framework to describe and understand instances of care within community-led developments and to explore the interface between such projects and relevant policies in cities.

Dr Cavada said: “I am really excited to partner with Lancaster Civic Vision on two levels. First, on a research level, collaborating on the ‘Caring with Cities’ programme. This has led to discussions on how to incorporate the wealth of the local Lancaster Architecture History that the Civic Society has accumulated into the Architectural Humanities module for the first year at BA Hons, School of Architecture at Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts at Lancaster University.

“Lancaster Civic Vision was an obvious choice for the Lancaster case study within the Caring with Cities project, funded by the BA, because of their urban approach towards local communities and sustainability.

“Our ambition together with researchers from Northumbria University, Sheffield Hallam University, UCL, Surrey University, and Lancaster University is to embed care into the design of the future urban policy for UK cities.”

Secretary of Lancaster Civic Vision James Wilkie said: “We are delighted to have been invited to participate in this initiative. It aligns with our belief that a move towards community-led development and greater citizen engagement and influence are critical to the achieving the ambition of Lancaster becoming an exemplar sustainable city.”

Lancaster Civic Society, founded in 1967, has overseen the preservation of the heritage of the Lancaster and Morecambe district, its outstanding natural beauty, whilst assisting in its future development.