Edmonton, Alberta, Canada once home to the world's largest mall (now only the largest in North America) has become known for refusing to allow "crap" to be built in the city. Specifically there is a proper ban on "square boxes with minimal features and lame landscaping" which is enforced by a city committee ominously known as the Edmonton Design Committee (EDC).
The civic volunteers have no real sway over granting a project the ability to proceed to the construction phase however no projects were approved by the body in power (the Edmonton development office) that were not supported by the EDC. The EDC has a mandate, they have the power to uphold it and they are flexing their muscle to include surrounding areas to Edmonton proper.
While at times there is still quite a bit of speculation about 'design review boards' and what they are worth I find it interesting that the EDC seems to be a completely volunteer group of individuals brought together out of love of their community. In fact they are described as a "volunteer coalition of experts". I don't know how one really becomes an 'expert'. I would love to see the process behind that title but for now I will move on.
The question of any design review council remains. "Who the hell do you think you are to tell me what is ugly and what isn't?" Granted in some instances bad design is rather telling however in others some really new, exciting ideas may seem too incredibly foreign to be accepted and that is where the power of the design review board scares me.
While I think it is all fine and dandy to hold city projects to a set of 'urban' guidelines and perhaps even zoning I am abhorred by what some real design review does. In Cleveland there are numerous projects that have sprung up that should have had to go through a design review process. One firm's entire portfolio could be considered suspect of utilizing any sort of measure of taste or finesse however prolific they may be yet they continue to infect our city with either a total disregard to a Design Review or worse, with the Design Review's blessing.
While Edmonton is willing to call a 'cow' a 'cow' and better yet call 'crap' projects for what they are I wonder who in the local community is attempting to interject a touch of civic pride into their decisions. I have been to few reviews and I wonder that quite often. For those of you interested in why things are being built in your community I suggest you contact your local building and planning boards to get a schedule of when meetings are taking place and go to a few of them. For the most part they are boring humdrum lectures of misplaced historical context (casement window's aren't historically correct since everyone has double hung, what?) you would be surprised at what slips through when people are watching the clock. Next time you wonder how that 'mixed use urban development' sprung up on your block you can attribute it to our design review peers asleep at the wheel.
Resources:
Canada looks better all the time
Cleveland Planning Commission
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