A Pilot Initiative Exploring How Gardens, Landscapes and Green Infrastructure Can Create More Resilient, Desirable and Successful Communities

Why This Matters

As climate change, water scarcity, flooding, overheating and biodiversity loss reshape the way places are designed, landscape has become critical infrastructure. Gardens, green spaces, streetscapes, green corridors and country parks are no longer simply amenities. They help manage water, support biodiversity, improve health and wellbeing, create opportunities for play and strengthen community identity.

At the same time, homebuyers increasingly value access to nature, attractive green spaces, wildlife, shade and outdoor living. The Climate Resilient Communities Standard™ is being developed to help developers, planners and communities better understand, measure and demonstrate the value of high-quality gardens, landscapes and green infrastructure within new housing developments.

In partnership with Anglian Water, Davies White Ltd led a one-day workshop at the renowned Beth Chatto Gardens to explore how gardens and landscapes in new housing developments can be designed to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and water stress. FIND OUT MORE HERE!

How We Got Here

Over the past 18 months, Davies White Landscape Architects and the Sustainable Landscape Foundation have been working with developers, water companies, stewardship organisations and industry leaders to explore the future of landscape-led development.

This has included collaboration with Anglian Water and the Future Homes Hub through workshops and discussions focused on water-smart communities, climate resilience, biodiversity enhancement and long-term stewardship. A common challenge has emerged. Whilst there are recognised frameworks such as the EPC for assessing the energy performance of homes, there is currently no simple and widely recognised way of assessing the quality, resilience and long-term performance of the gardens, landscapes and green infrastructure that surround them.

Discussions with representatives from the RHS, Sustainable Landscape Foundation, Landscape Institute, BALI, developers, water companies and other stakeholders have highlighted growing interest in exploring a practical framework that could help define, measure and promote climate-resilient communities.

The Opportunity

The EPC transformed how people think about energy performance within the home. We believe there is an opportunity to explore a similar approach for gardens, landscapes and green infrastructure. Imagine if a new development could demonstrate:

• Climate resilience
• Water efficiency
• Biodiversity enhancement
• Family wellbeing
• Landscape quality
• Long-term stewardship

in a simple, transparent and measurable way.

The ambition is simple: to help developers create better gardens, better landscapes and ultimately better communities. Better communities are easier to secure consent for, easier to market and more successful places to live.

Why It Matters to Developers

Planning & Consent

• Strengthen sustainability narratives
• Demonstrate commitment to climate adaptation
• Support positive conversations with planning authorities
• Provide evidence of landscape-led placemaking

Sales & Marketing

• Differentiate developments from competitors
• Strengthen placemaking stories
• Highlight tangible benefits to purchasers
• Demonstrate long-term value

ESG & Corporate Responsibility

• Support biodiversity and environmental commitments
• Demonstrate leadership within the sector
• Align with emerging sustainability objectives

Residents & Communities

• Better outdoor living
• Improved wellbeing
• Stronger community identity
• Increased access to nature
• More resilient landscapes for future generations
  

What Is the Climate Resilient Communities Standard™?

The Standard is being developed as a pilot framework for assessing the quality, performance and resilience of gardens, landscapes and green infrastructure associated with new housing developments.

It considers three connected scales:

HOME

The private garden and immediate outdoor living environment.

STREET

The public realm, streetscape and neighbourhood green infrastructure.

PLACE

The wider development, including parks, country parks, green corridors, open spaces, biodiversity networks and long-term stewardship arrangements.

Together these elements create the places people experience every day.The Standard is intended not only as an assessment framework, but also as a catalyst for better landscape-led design and delivery.

Pilot Opportunity

Davies White Landscape Architects and the Sustainable Landscape Foundation are seeking a small number of pilot developments.The pilot programme will test the framework, refine the assessment criteria and generate practical recommendations for future projects.

Pilot projects may include:

• Show home gardens
• Residential gardens
• Streetscapes and public realm
• Green corridors
• Sustainable drainage landscapes
• Neighbourhood parks
• Country parks
• Strategic green infrastructure

Participating developers will have a unique opportunity to help shape and test what could become an industry benchmark for climate-resilient placemaking.

Why Davies White?

Davies White Landscape Architects has spent almost two decades creating family-friendly, nature-rich and award-winning landscapes and gardens.

Led by Landscape Institute Past President Adam White and double RHS Gold Medal-winning landscape architect Andrée Davies, Davies White specialises in landscape-led masterplanning, meaningful stakeholder engagement, country parks, green corridors, public realm, nature-based play and climate-resilient green infrastructure. Through a combination of in-person workshops, community events and digital engagement, the practice helps build support, ownership and better outcomes for projects.

Our experience includes:

• Landscape-led masterplanning
• Country parks and green corridors
• Community engagement and co-design
• Nature-based play environmeants
• RHS Gold Medal-winning projects
• The RHS Back to Nature Garden with HRH The Princess of Wales
• Workshops with Anglian Water and Future Homes Hub
• Work with developers, land promoters and stewardship organisations

We believe landscapes should not simply be spaces left over after development. They should be the framework around which successful communities are built.

Next Steps

We are inviting forward-thinking developers to contact us to explore a pilot project. Together we can test the framework on a live development, refine the methodology and demonstrate how climate-resilient gardens, landscapes and green infrastructure can create more resilient, marketable and successful communities whilst delivering lasting benefits for people and nature.