The City of Sheffield is currently undergoing a period of major development and regeneration. Recognising the opportunities that this offers in terms of achieving high quality urban design, the City Council has put in place measures to embed design in the local planning process.

In 2004 Sheffield City Council launched the Sheffield City Centre Urban Design Compendium which identifies urban design principles for the city, as well as detailed area-specific guidance for the different quarters. It informs policies in the Sheffield Development Framework as well as the new City Centre Design Guide, a supplementary planning document. The Compendium is also taken into account as a consideration when determining planning applications and provides those preparing applications with design guidance.