Integrated Master Planning: Arup’s Contributions to the Overseas Territories Trade and Investment Dialogue

Integrated Master Planning: Arup’s Contributions to the Overseas Territories Trade and Investment Dialogue

Presented as part of a trade and investment study visit co-convened by British Expertise International and Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office

Speakers:

• Dima Zogheib, Director
• Dan Ringelstein, Director
• David Green, Principal
• James Conway, Associate Principal

A global consultancy dedicated to sustainable development, Arup is a collective of designers, advisors and experts working globally to shape resilient and inclusive infrastructure.

Whilst engaging with the delegation from the Overseas Territories, Arup’s Urban Design and Masterplanning team highlighted how masterplanning can provide a strategic, holistic framework for resilient growth. Arup showcased key building principles for masterplanning, including:

Promoting stewardship of the land

• Where and how to best place development to create value, while protecting and enhancing existing ecosystems.
• Ensure zero impact, with an eventual transition to a net-positive ecological gain.

Designing communities rooted in their unique settings

• Creating places where identity is derived from its unique natural context and cultural heritages.

Connecting people with nature

• Striking a balance between urban and nature through design approaches which celebrate the natural environment (i.e., active/eco-recreation, family amenities in close proximity to places of work and living).

Creating vibrant places catering to future generations

• Establishing a future community with diverse and connected destinations where all generations can take root and thrive.

Incubating innovation to attract talent

• Ensuring residential development's viability, so that the delivery of future workplace environments fuels economic activity and draws people to live in an autonomous setting.
• Developments which foster interaction and respond to the demands of a dynamic future workforce.

Establish a viable development strategy

• Ensuring demand-led development approaches are favoured over speculative growth forecasts and that they are adequately coordinated with local needs.

Arup also shared proof-of-concept case studies for each of the following themes:

Regional/CityPlanning

Puerto Plata Territorial Plan – Dominican Republic, 2024-2025 (Inter-American Development Bank)

Arup formulated a territorial spatial plan, taking into account multiple scales and the interdependencies among environmental, functional, sociocultural, economic, and institutional dimensions. Arup designed a platform for stakeholder participation, with mechanisms focused on gender and inclusion, public consultations, inter-institutional roundtables, and technical roundtables that guide the formulation process. Arup also delivered an operational guide and training sessions for public officials to build capacity at the local level and support the implementation phase.

Tourism Destination Planning

Project Turquoise, Red Sea, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Arup designed a  series of autonomous mixed-use communities. The project utilised urban hierarchy methods, scale and dimension within the urban block, open spaces, and land use and community capabilities.

Sustainable New Communities

Benguerir Ville Verte in Morocco

Aimed at reinforcing the green network of the thalwegs with open spaces, whilst also applying a human-scale approach to mobility. The project also aimed to create a place for urban innovation and open resilient spaces which encourage a healthy lifestyle in contact with nature.

Urban Regeneration

Santo Domingo Historic City Centre Special Plan – Dominican Republic, 2024 (Inter-American Development Bank)

Arup supported the IDB in formulating a special plan for the Colonial City of Santo Domingo (CCSD). As the city has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage site since 1900, the objective was to promote and preserve its Historical Landscape Heritage and integrate Sustainable Urban Development.

Landscape-Led Master Planning

King Abdullah Global Gardens, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The current KAGA masterplan proposes a series of external feature gardens to complement the significant biome, Crescent Botanical Garden, which will act as an educational and research destination in the Kingdom. Arup has been appointed to inject further activity and attractions within the site, which can take advantage of the Paleobotanic Building currently under construction, as well as linkages to the wider Wadi Namar project currently in planning.

Climate Change and Resiliency

Maldives – Enhanced Water Security and Climate Resiliency

The objective of this project was to establish integrated, climate-resilient water supply and management systems in the Maldives, while promoting increased community-level participation in the development, allocation, and monitoring of freshwater use.

Arup designed services for a full water treatment and distribution system and targeted upgrades to the wastewater collection system on Hinnavaru Island. They supported UNOPS from the project's origination through to the technical design to deliver it.  

City Infrastructure Planning

Turks and Caicos – Island Building Code Update and Building Guidelines

This project was part of wider efforts to reduce poverty following Hurricane Ike in 2008 and to strengthen the resilience of affected communities in the event of future disasters. Arup updated the building code in line with the latest technology, design, and best practices for construction in hurricane- and seismic-prone areas.

Peru – Building Urban and Infrastructure Resilience

Arup is working alongside Peru's Authority for Reconstruction with Change (ARCC) program to rebuild critical and social infrastructure severely damaged by El Niño. The UK delivery team, with support from the UK government in collaboration with ARCC and the Peruvian government, provides technical assistance and guidance to ensure the resilience and sustainability of infrastructure projects. The work also includes the development of comprehensive management solutions for flood-mitigation infrastructure in 19 river basins and five ravines, as well as seven new urban drainage systems.

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