The Planning Education and Research Network (PERN) aims to increase knowledge exchange between planning educators, researchers and practitioners. More...

Photo of Sir Eduardo Paolozzi's statue of Isaac Newton outside the British Library, by Charles Strang 

Network News

Delivering the Welsh Planning Research Agenda, 24 February 2010, Cardiff

The RTPI Cymru and the RTPI's PERN, supported by the Welsh Assembly Government, organised a seminar to discuss the delivery of the planning research agenda in Wales. Chaired by RTPI Cymru's Policy and Research Forum Chair, Owain Wyn, 60 researchers and practitioners came together to hear about the Wales' situation and listen to case studies of current and recent research taking place across the UK. Presentations are now available for download.

Accessibility and user needs in transport for sustainable urban environments

The AUNT-SUE consortium, part of the EPSRC's £38m Sustainable Urban Environments programme, celebrated the completion of seven years of research last month with a one-day research symposium hosted by UCL and an evening reception at the London Transport Museum. The AUNT-SUE consortium brings together the expertise of leading research centres at London Metropolitan University, Loughborough University and University College London working with project partners including the London Borough of Camden, Hertfordshire County Council and a network of local, regional and transport authorities. The purpose of AUNT-SUE is to develop a comprehensive 'toolkit' that can be used at different scales, from city-regions down to the micro-level of streets, vehicles and facilities such as bus stops, signage and ticket machines. Central to its approach is the integration of policy, design and operations throughout the whole journey environment. Examples of tools in development include: ConSEPT (Consulting Socially Excluded People about Transport); VISIT (Visualising Safe and Inclusive Transport Environments); SDI (Street Design Indicator) and the SEI (Street Environment Index). More... 

RTPI Education Awards

Mid Sussex District Council, the Planning Inspectorate, Cardiff University and Heriot-Watt University student Kathryn Gilchrist took the honours in this year’s RTPI awards for education and lifelong learning. More...

STOP PRESS - Scientist Debate Global Warming at Royal Institution on Friday 5 February

Debate has been raging online and in the press about the effect climate change is having on the impact of natural disasters. Two leading authorities on climate have been at odds over the science. Roger Pielke Jr, claims that the science of the IPCC’s (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report is based on cherry-picked data, whereas Bob Ward argues that the link between extreme weather events and climate change is clear, and the row  over the evidence for increasing losses from disasters is an excuse to dig up old criticisms and is ‘predictable opportunism’. The Royal Institution hosted a fierce debate between these two experts on Friday 5 February. See more at www.rigb.org

Survey of Planners' GIS Skills - deadline extended to 5 March

Richard Kingston, at the University of Manchester’s Planning School is carrying out a survey of planners to assess the current level of GIS skills and expertise within the profession with the view to improving the teaching of GIS and spatial literacy to better match the requirements placed on professional planners. More...

Website for UK data on housing and neighbourhoods launched

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has launched a website to provide a single source of information on key UK housing and neighbourhood trends. It forms part of its Housing and Neighbourhoods Monitor project, which identifies the main issues, comments on government performance on related targets and explores trends and concerns. The JRF has published the first in a series of related reports giving a UK-wide overview of housing and neighbourhoods trends and analysing the interaction between them. The summary and full report can be downloaded free from www.hnm.org.uk. The foundation is keen for feedback, so please email research@rtpi.org.uk with your comments.

Education network paves the way for healthier settlements 

The Education Network for Healthier Settlements is a network of higher education institutions across England that is promoting the integration of health issues into the teaching and learning of built environment professionals. It recognises that the built environment professions affect the ability of people to make healthy choices and need to understand their influence on the health and well-being of the population. The project is funded through the Department of Health workforce unit and the Cross Government Obesity Unit. For more information, please visit www.bne.uwe.ac.uk/who/enhs

Urban development report bids to help improve communities

A report by Cliff Hague and Will French has been published by ComHabitat, a partnership of government and other agencies working to improve communities in Commonwealth countries. Currently about three-quarters of a billion people live in Commonwealth urban areas and these populations are growing by more than 23.5 million people a year, fuelled by youth demographics and rural to urban migration. Growth rates of four per cent a year found in Gambia, Kenya and the Solomon Islands mean that the number of urban dwellers will almost double by 2025. Some 32 of the Commonwealth’s 76 “million-plus” cities are expected to more than double in size between 2000 and 2025. The report argues for a state of the Commonwealth cities database, sharing of enhanced action research, an advisory service and increased mobilisation of volunteers to help implementation. For a copy of the report, please visit www.commonwealth-planners.org

RTPI considers evaluation of planning research

The RTPI submitted a response to the consultation by the UK higher education funding bodies on the introduction of a new quality assessment for research in UK universities. We would like to thank the input of members of PERN. Read response…

Defining Territorial Cohesion: the key to funds after 2013?

Read report by the ESPON UK Contact Point following a seminar in Malmo in which it was discussed the ESPON knowledge base as a potential for regional territorial analysis and hence for supporting policy-making from the regional to the European level.

Network member Simin Davoudi requests…

As an Academician and also a founding member (and the only planner) of the editorial board of the Academy's journal (21st Century Society), Professor Simin Davoudi would like to encourage the planning community to write for the journal on key planning issues. Information about the journal can be found on the Academy's website.

Join our Campaign against Funding Cuts for Planning Education in Scotland

The Scottish Funding Council proposed to cut funding for planning education in Scotland by 22%. If the proposed cut goes through, it is likely that some of the Planning Schools would be forced to close; consequently the future supply of Scottish educated planners would be reduced. Join our campaign…

Competitive Cities and Climate Change

An OECD Working Paper on Competitive Cities and Climate Change presents findings on the impact of metropolitan regions on climate change. It argues that urban policies can complement global climate policies by reducing global energy demand, CO2 emissions and the overall costs of abatement. It also discusses ways in which cities can become more active in the green economy and identifies successful cases where environmental sustainability furthered economic development, such as through renewable energy, public transportation, and climate-friendly R&D. Download…

Events

Education Network for Healthier Settlements, 26 March 2010, London

This conference has been organised to showcase good practice and bring together educators and others interested in exploring and developing built environment education to help deliver more health aware planners, architects, urban designers, landscape and transport professionals. For more information and to register, see the conference website or contact en4hs@uwe.ac.uk. Find out more about the network by clicking here.

UK-Ireland Planning Research Conference, 7-9 April 2010, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford

The conference will be hosted by the Department of the Built Environment at Anglia Ruskin University. An interdisciplinary mix of researchers, policymakers and practitioners will present and debate current issues in research concerned with the challenging and changing context of planning. More...

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