Last September we booked to attend a guided tour at Marmalade Lane, as part of our office study trip in Cambridge, seeking inspiration from UK best practice precedents. It was a unique opportunity to engage directly with local residents, listen to their stories and learn from their living experience and design involvement in a scheme that we’ve used regularly as a precedent in our work.

Colour forms part of the character and identity of our towns and landscapes and plays an essential role in how we perceive and use spaces around us. Across the disciplines at Define, we view colour as a powerful tool in creating successful places.

This summer Define went on our annual overseas study trip, which this year was Lisbon. Our study trips are a great way to find design inspiration, and learn about both new and old architectural, urban design and landscape.

How much space could be freed up if people owned less cars and used sustainable transport? What if we, as urban designers, had to worry less about cars and parking and focused more on actual placemaking when designing new neighbourhoods?