Post by Jacob Nuttall

As my first semester of my final year at the Manchester School of Architecture (MSA) comes to a close, I’ve begun developing my thesis project within the [CPU]ai . It’s been a semester shaped by intensive research, computational exploration, and a deep dive into the spatial dynamics that influence urban vitality and safety. Here’s where the project currently stands, and I’m looking forward to building on this foundation as I continue the work next semester. Thesis question: ‘This thesis contends that prevailing design which erode urban vitality inadvertently intensify crime by promoting sprawl, undermining walkability, and diminishing opportunities for mutual surveillance. Critiquing these spatial failures, the research interrogates how deliberate manipulations of building layout, scale, and configuration can counteract these effects. Informed by key research readings that establish performance criteria, the study uses computational testing of alternative building arrangements to expose which design strategies most effectively mitigate crime risks and reassert the spatial, social, and environmental strengths of compact urban form.’ Drawing on established theoretical frameworks from Alexander, Jacobs, Speck, Jabareen, Allen, and Kropf, the study evaluates how building layout, density, mixed land-use, and street layout shape everyday behaviour and social interaction. Through computational testing and spatial analysis, I explore alternative building arrangements to identify which design strategies most effectively enhance urban vitality. The project focuses Trafford Park as the site, the research maps walkability, 15‑minute city performance, spatial patterns, and field conditions to expose systemic gaps and opportunities within the existing urban fabric. The outcome is a set of evidence‑based spatial principles that will inform the development of a generative design tool in later project stages. The overarching aim is to demonstrate how intentional, data‑driven urban design can reduce crime risk while restoring the social, environmental, and economic benefits of compact, vibrant urban form.

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