M10 research programme
Philip Kassanis as director at Open Urbanism
M10 is an academic research programme that aims to enhance the practice of masterplanning by learning the lessons of the last 10 years using an improved framework.
The research concept was initially conceived over three and half years ago by Philip Kassanis as a PhD and was acceptable in principle to 3 universities. However it was not financially viable in this form and the requirements of a PhD would have restricted its ambitious scope. It was therefore re-imagined as a research programme that could attract significant funding from public and private sector sources. The proposition was then carried forward by Philip Kassanis Architect and Urban Designer along with a parallel practical initiative for bottom-up planning, OurPlanning™.
A start had been organised in 2012 with one university but it became clear that it was premature because certain aspects of the relationship between M10 and OurPlanning™ were insufficiently resolved. In October 2012 a not-for-profit company, Open Urbanism, was founded to specifically develop and deliver both initiatives in an integrated way. Work on M10 was put on hold while OurPlanning™ was reviewed with help of The Glass-House using funding from the Technology Strategy Board under its Innovation Voucher scheme. Both are now ready to commence. £50,000 seed funding is already secured from a social philanthropist.
