Planning

The science of managing and directing city growth

Since 2013, whilst at the Prince’s Foundation, Aaron has managed the design and planning of £1.2m contract with the Ministry of Housing in Bahrain. The land holding of 734-hecatares will eventually cater to over 8,000 units, near 48-hecatares of mixed-use development, 20 schools, two technical institutions, 17 mosques, a regional hospital and numerous community services. The project has helped redefine planning and roadway standards in Bahrain – through a nine-month period of workshops with various Ministries. The project has also helped rethink housing standards using more traditional building principles. In 2016, the project received awards from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as an exemplar for sustainable development in the Middle East. By December 2016, the Ministry of Housing aims to have a 120-unit demonstration area complete, which will serve to gain financial and political support for the project. Over the past three-years Aaron has made numerous visits to Bahrain to progress the scheme.

Southern New Town

Southern Governorate, Bahrain

Blackbird Leys Estate Regeneration

Oxford, Oxfordshire, England

The Blackbird Leys Housing Estate is one of the largest housing estates in England. With most of the housing stock built in the 1960s, the estate is in dire need for infrastructure improvements. Aaron's specific role in the project was to help map areas of ‘quick win’ demonstration projects located on smaller sites throughout the Estate. These served as the basis for a series of three stakeholder workshops in 2012 that addressed the physical, social, nancial and natural capital of the Estate.

Angondje is the largest single population growth area in Gabon with a proposed population well over 100,000 people. In 2013, the Prince’s Foundation and Bechtel International provided technical support in developing an infrastructure strategy for approximately 1,900-hectares. Aaron's role in the project was to lead a technical design team and carry out a series of design workshops in Gabon. This also included the introduction of form-based codes throughout the development – working alongside the internationally recognised rm Opticos Design (based in California). Although the project is extensive in scale – it provides Gabon with the tools necessary to establish a framework for a sustainable future. In 2016, the project received the prestigious American Planning Association’s ‘Pierre L’Enfant International Planning Achievement Award’.

Angondje Vision Plan

Libreville, Gabon

West Belfast Regeneration

Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland

Using the case study of West Belfast, where national and local tensions are deeply rooted in religion-based segregation, Aaron's Masters Dissertation from the London School of Economics addressed the question of shared space in urban planning. The project took a critical approach to the role of urban planners in addressing the sensitive issue of identity, which in the case of Belfast is represented by murals painted throughout the city. The research provided a new innovative approach to identity and is now being used in the Re-Imaging Communities Programme which aims to replace visible signs of sectarianism with more positive identity.

Yangon Historic Core Plan

Yangon, Myanmar

Downtown Yangon has been under great pressure from developers in recent years, but there is no planning law to protect the city’s heritage from such pressure. In 2014, the Prince’s Foundation met with the Yangon Heritage Trust and agreed to help develop a set of simple regulatory rules for the downtown area. Whilst the plan is only in draft form at the moment, and is unlikely to be approved for a number of years due to the political situation, it’s helped provide developers on a few key sites with the guidance as to what would be acceptable in this part of the city. Aaron's specific role on the project has been in the creation of visioning diagrams for the regulatory approval process.

Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership (NDEP)

Northern Dimension Area, Russia

Whilst working as a Planner and Urban Designer with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Aaron was given the task to help evaluate the largest environmental partnership in Northern Europe – the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership (NDEP). Working alongside the EIB, NEFCO, NIB and the World Bank - the partnership has been instrumental in combining private and public funding to raise environmental awareness in Russia. Aaron's specific role was to locate environmental hot-spots throughout the Region using GIS. At a more local level, Aaron spent a month in Russia (St Petersburg, Moscow, Kaliningrad, Arkhangelsk and Murmansk) looking at how energy efficiency, wastewater and stormwater management projects could help leverage local support from the already 3.3 billion provided by the NDEP. The experience allowed him to work in regional politics and economic development during and following his course at the London School of Economics in 2011.

Department of Communities and Local Government Projects

Various Locations, England

The Prince’s Foundation hosted a series of ‘front runner’ workshops throughout England from 2012-2013. As an Urban Designer, Aaron was directly involved with seven workshops since joining the Prince’s Foundation in 2012. The towns of Bray, Wirksworth, St Mellion, Kirdford, Malmesbury, Grove Park and Highgate in London have received direct regeneration results under the scheme since his involvement. Aaron's specific role was to provide detailed spatial analysis during the pre-workshop process and detailed diagrams during the post-workshop period. These diagrams have proved instrumental in various schemes producing Neighbourhood Plans, with many now being adopted.

Eco-Resort at Punta del Rey

Miches, Dominican Republic

Located on the North Coast of the Dominican Republic, the programme for the Eco-Resort at Punta Del Rey includes a combination of high-end single-family villa lots, a signature golf course, a beach club, landscape maintenance centre and an abundance of open space due to the environmental opportunities on the site. As part of the EDSA International Planning Studio, Aaron had the opportunity to participate in a three-day accelerated planning workshop in the Dominican Republic. The project helped spark an interest in environmental planning.

Open Space: An Asset without a Champion

Various European Locations

From 2010 to 2011, whilst studying at the London School of Economics, Aaron was part of a research team (working with Gensler Architects) to look at the importance of preserving open space in cities across Europe. Aaron’s role was to help gain feedback from a survey distributed to 350 real estate developers, investors, consultants and public sector workers. The results found that 84% of those surveyed believe that both the public and private sectors should be responsible for the development of open spaces. The paper concludes with 10 key themes for developing open space in the UK, Portugal, Germany, Spain, Turkey, France and Russia. In addition the research, Aaron used his design background to illustrate certain key graphics in the report and helped host a launch event at Gensler in 2011.

Rebuilding Communities Initiative

Jacksonville, Florida, USA

Jacksonville has one of the oldest and largest stocks of historic homes and unique building types in America, owning to a mix of cultures and building traditions from Spain, France, England, Canada, Ireland, Germany, Africa and Haiti. In the summer of 2010, Aaron had the opportunity to direct a six-month programme as part of the ‘Rebuilding Communities Initiative’ which rehabilitates historic architecture whilst generating jobs in the local area through training. This involved directing a staff of eight and teaching a class of 43 students. The programme continues to be a positive light in Downtown Jacksonville, given the recurring determination for a more sustainable approach to rebuilding in the American South. The project was highly rewarding personally and builds upon his interest in building conservation in a city and region of the United States he's passionate about before moving to London.