Planning Guidance - Edinburgh Design Guidance

Glossary of key terms

Active Frontage – Ground floor building frontage designed to allow people to see and walk inside and out.

Active Travel - Modes of travel that involve a level of activity, such as walking or using a wheelchair, scooter or bicycle.

Built Heritage - The city’s buildings and built spaces of special value.

Character - The patterns we recognise around us that makes one place distinct from another.

Community - Individuals and groups that share a location (for example people who live in, work in or use an area) or a common interest (for example businesses, sports or heritage groups).

Density - The floorspace or number of dwellings in a development divided by its land area.

Embodied Energy - The energy involved in the sourcing of materials, transportation, and construction of the proposed design.

Greenspace - Any vegetated land or structure, water or geological feature in the urban area including playing fields, grassed areas, trees, woodlands and paths.

Heat Network – A network distributing heat or cooling from a central source or sources to a variety of consumers.

Immediate Outlook - The foreground of what can be seen from within a building. Does not include medium or long views from properties.

Infill Development – Development of buildings or other facilities that are on vacant or unused land between existing buildings.

Infrastructure - Physical networks which serve development such as roads, paths, street lighting, supplies of water, gas, electricity and wastewater drainage and services for occupants of developments such as public transport measures, schools and healthcare.

Landmark - An object or feature of a landscape or town that is easily seen and recognized from a distance, especially one that enables someone to establish their location.

Landscape - How we see the land around us and how it has been shaped by people and nature.

Masterplan - A detailed document that explains how a site or sites will be developed, usually prepared by or on behalf of the landowner, including a representation of the three-dimensional form of proposals and an implementation programme.

Natural heritage - The natural features, spaces and landscapes that are of special value.

Open Space - Includes ‘greenspace’ (see definition) and ‘civic space’ consisting of squares, marketplaces and other paved or hard landscaped areas with a civic function.

Place Brief - A set of high-level principles established to shape the future development of a site and informed by outcomes from community engagement.

Placemaking - The process of creating better places, places that people enjoy being in. It is achieved through developers, public sector agencies and local communities working together.

Public Art - Features of the public realm which are designed to provide more distinctive, vibrant, interesting and attractive places. Public art should be cognisant of its context; reflecting the identity of an area as well as complementing and diversifying the range of art in an area, for example to ensure children and adults alike can engage with the art and culture of their area. Such art may take many forms, including - but not limited to - sculptures, engravings, murals and written text.

Public Realm - The parts of the city (whether publicly or privately owned) that are available for everyone to see and use without charge 24 hours a day, including streets, squares and parks.

Roofscape - A scene or view of roofs, especially when considered in terms of its aesthetic appeal.

Sense of Place – Our perception of a place, including the attachments and meanings we associate with that place.

Sky Space - The space around the city’s landmark features that will protect their integrity.

Street furniture – Objects placed or fixed in the street for public use, such as postboxes, road signs, and benches.

Street hierarchy – A categorisation of streets and routes in response to their importance in the wider street network.

Townscape - The patterns we recognise in the built-up area, including the type and layout of buildings and the open spaces between them.

Urban Grain – The arrangement or pattern of the buildings and streets within the built form.

Walkability – The accessibility of amenities by walking.

Weathering – Changes to materials over a period of time because of the effects of sun, wind, or other weather conditions.