The spaces we live in influence our well-being, our economic prosperity, our social and cultural life. The quality of this built environment does not result from a single intervention, but a complex accumulation of factors, behaviours and decisions from multiple stakeholders. A variety of laws, standards and policies aim to secure basic comfort levels in cities. Indeed, these regulatory tools help avoid the building of poor-quality projects. But are they effective enough to improve the quality of future developments?

Alternative urban design governance models that are inherently more flexible prove to be more immediate and effective in responding to urban challenges. What can we learn from the experiences of innovative informal practices in Europe? Can these administrative, methodological and financial modalities be adapted and applied in different contexts? Is it possible to set up long-term knowledge and experience exchange among urban professionals? How can we ensure the widespread adoption of design quality policies across Europe?

URBAN MAESTRO is an initiative of a consortium consisting of the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat), University College London (UCL) and the Brussels Bouwmeester Maître Architecte (BMA), supported by the European Commission. The research project ran from 2019 to 2021.