Karen Anderson: Well-designed places can enrich our lives

IT IS timely that the debate in the Scottish Parliament today, to be led by Cabinet secretary Fiona Hyslop, will look at the importance of architecture and placemaking to the economic development of Scotland.

The debate will bring welcome attention to the growing importance of effective investment in our places – the places we live, learn and work in. The places where people and communities thrive.

I firmly believe that by supporting place-based planning and investment we not only make Scotland’s places more functional and attractive, but also tackle some of the big issues around transport, carbon emissions, employment, health and economic sustainability.

Well-planned places, incorporating the best new development alongside existing buildings, support our communities and present a strong image of Scotland worldwide. In this way we can create the conditions to deliver long-term economic and social benefits.

As economic conditions remain challenging and we have less money to spend, we should invest wisely and for future generations. Good buildings and successful places are our gift to the future. The investment we make now should stand comparison with our forebears, who created the extraordinary legacy of buildings and places that continues to support the lives we live today.

Rather than taking a short-term view, we should put the right teams in place and spend what public money we have to create the places our communities need – places of opportunity and choice where well-designed new buildings and imaginatively adapted old buildings sit happily together. We cannot afford to crush and landfill buildings that have passed their perceived use-by date.

With political and civic support, Scotland is well placed to take a lead in high-quality design to enable creative collaborations between our local authorities, public bodies, investors and communities. We need to work together now to ensure that Scotland’s places are sustainable and thriving, not just today, but into the future.

• Karen Anderson is chair of Architecture+Design Scotland