Under the Patronage of the Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Al-Nahrain and the Follow-Up of the Respected Head of the Architectural Engineering Department, Professor Dr. Haitham Abdulhussein Al-Shammari,

an online seminar was successfully held, delivered by Professor Matthew Carmona, Professor of Urban Planning and Design at The Bartlett, University College London (UCL). The seminar took place on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, under the title:

Urban Design Governance in Europe (and the Softer Tools of Soft Power)

This pioneering event marks the first of its kind among architecture departments in Iraq, made possible by the distinguished academic standing of Professor Matthew Carmona. As a professor at UCL—ranked 9th globally and competing with elite institutions such as Oxford and MIT—Professor Carmona is a leading authority in spatial quality and urban design management on a global scale. Beyond his academic role, he serves as a consultant for various local governments worldwide, most notably in the U.S., China, the Netherlands, and Portugal, and has contributed his expertise to over 12 urban projects across Europe.

Globally, architecture schools vie for top rankings, a competition largely dominated by American and European universities. Since 2023, The Bartlett at UCL, specializing in architecture and urban design, has surpassed Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design to claim the No. 1 position worldwide, as recognized by the QS World University Rankings.

We were honored to host Professor Matthew Carmona, an expert in urban design policies and a faculty member at the world’s top architecture school. Additionally, he graciously provided our department with a complimentary copy of his latest book. Initially planned as a 30-minute lecture followed by a 30-minute Q&A, the seminar extended to an hour and a half, enriched by his insightful presentation and the thought-provoking questions posed by our academic colleagues.

Professor Carmona explored the evolution of urban design policies, highlighting Europe’s experiences in urban design management. His central thesis emphasizes a multi-layered (Layers) approach to design decision-making: at the national level, strategic decisions align with economic and political priorities; at the regional level, these are refined; and at the local level, they are implemented. He illustrated this with an example from Greenwich, London, where the local council exercises streamlined authority over urban design decisions without overlapping with the Greater London Authority or legislative bodies.

Expanding on his framework—drawn from his recent book, Urban Design Governance, which he generously shared as a free digital copy despite its market value and copyright restrictions—he distinguished between two decision-making tools:

• Formal tools: Legally binding and rigid (e.g., land-use zoning, building codes, planning laws).
• Informal tools: Flexible and non-binding (e.g., design guidelines, advisory bodies, professional associations, universities).

While informal tools—termed "soft power"—can guide decisions toward greater efficiency, Professor Carmona stressed the need for integration of both formal and informal tools to achieve optimal design outcomes.

We proposed academic collaboration with Professor Carmona and are currently in discussions to establish a framework for cooperation.

Our gratitude extends to all attendees and colleagues who engaged with the lecture, posing questions that Professor Carmona praised as "highly relevant and substantive."

(Professionally translated into English with precision.)