RTPI International
RTPI and the international dimension of planning
RTPI is an international organisation. Five per cent of its 23,000 members live and work outside the UK, and it accredits planning courses overseas. The Institute has an International Committee and a dedicated International Affairs Officer.
RTPI is an active member of ECTP-CEU, the European Council of Spatial Planners and the Commonwealth Association of Planners. It is active in the Global Planners Network (see below) and with UN-Habitat, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme. RTPI houses the UK Contact Point for ESPON (the European Observation Network on Territorial Development and Cohesion): the ESPON CP web-page explains this and offers a wide range of contacts, articles and references to help link EU spatial planning policy to our members' daily lives.
LATEST NEWS
The World Town Planning Day Online Conference 2011: Going Public: Spaces in our Communities took place on 1st-2nd November. Click here for our report and to find out more about this series of inspiring conference, please visit the dedicated website www.planningtheworld.net.
RTPI LINKS AROUND THE WORLD
CAP
Ann Skippers is now Vice President (Europe) of the Commonwealth Association of Planners. Speaking after the election, the CAP Secretary General Clive Harridge said "I am delighted that Ann has been elected to the Vice President position. Ann brings tremendous enthusiasm to the post and she will be a great asset in helping CAP progress our exciting range of activities and events addressing the challenging planning issues facing the Commonwealth". Ann has a background in local government in England and was President of RTPI in 2010. Ann is a Director of the consultancy Charisma Spatial Planning Ltd and Vice-Chair of the RTPI International Committee. On taking up her appointment Ann said: "It's a great privilege for me to be elected as Vice President and to have the opportunity of working alongside a very committed group of people around the world. I'm looking forward to taking on a new and exciting challenge."
Built Environment Professions
Through its active membership of the Global Planners Network, RTPI is involved in the Habitat Professionals Forum (HPF) uniting the professional disciplines involved in human settlements. HPF represents over 6 million plann
ers, architects, surveyors, landscape architects and engineers who work with the UN to deliver the Habitat Agenda. It has produced a short and readable Charter committing profession organisations to sustainable urbanisation, combating inequality, managing climate change and preventing/mitigating natural disaster. Christine Platt MRTPI, President of the Commonwealth Association of Planners, chaired the April 2011 meeting of the Forum in Nairobi - read her opening statement and read more about the meeting on the UN-HABITAT website.
Earthquake and tsunami in Japan on 11th March 2011 The Development from Disasters Network continuously monitors the news coming in after geophysical disasers; we are monitoring it for planning news Read more. RTPI advice to planners wanting to know what they can do to help is here.
Earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand The New Zealand Planning Institute (NZPI) has a news feed of information on the effects of the earthquake (Magnitude 6.3) on 22nd February and is gearing up to offer hands-on planning expertise after the search-and-rescue operation.Read more
Queensland Floods The Planning Institute of Australia now provides a useful round-up of flood-recovery resources on its Policy pages.
For World Town Planning Day 2010, RTPI London Region joined local branches of the Australian and New Zealand planning institutes to celebrate the day with an event entitled "Have Your Cake & Eat It" - find out more. UN-HABITAT
The latest UN-HABITAT World Urban Forum was held in Rio de Janeiro in March 2010. Planning was at the forefront of many keynote speeches and networking events and RTPI was there. Read our report of the event here.
In Rio, UN-HABITAT launched the next phase in its World Urban Campaign. With its partners in the Global Planners Network (see below), RTPI plans to make a significant contribution to this important initiative. Read more
When natural disaster strikes, planners round the world want to know what they can do to help. Click here to go to RTPI's feature on the Haiti earthquake disaster in January 2010
The Global Report on Human Settlements (GRHS) is a key UN-HABITAT publication every two years focusing on one main topic. In 2009 it was Planning Sustainable Cities and at the London launch, RTPI took the opportunity to make its Chief Editor, Dr. Naison Mutizwa-Mangiza, an Honorary Member of the Institute in recognition of his dedication to research and policy in sustainable development. He is pictured right talking to a Young Planner at the Planning Convention. Read more about the Global Report on Human Settlements 2009 and its emphasis on the value of planning.
GRHS 2011 is on the equally vital topic of Cities and Climate Change. The report is optimistic about change if action is taken now: well planned cities with efficient urban transport provision and solid adaptation and mitigation strategies can minimise their impact on climate and provide clear economic and social opportunities for their inhabitants. To see detailed information about the report (e.g. the very useful background briefings), click here. To download the abridged version free of charge, click here.
RTPI is also founder member of the Global Planners Network (GPN), 
dedicated to raising the profile of planning as an indispensable part of managing the world's rapid urbanisation. GPN now has a regular free newsletter - visit the website to see the current edition, or email editor@globalplannersnetwork.org to subscribe.
RTPI and CAP (the Commonwealth Association of Planners) have begun a study of the world's capacity for planning in support of the aims of GPN. You can read more about this work in the GPN article below and on the capacity research web-page.
The International Affairs Officer is the first point of contact for Institute members based overseas, overseas enquirers asking about planning in the United Kingdom, members in the United Kingdom enquiring about planning overseas, overseas planners already working in the British Isles and overseas planning Institutes.
Planners and others with a special interest in issues of international development and planning are encouraged to join the International Development Network. IDN has been instrumental in producing a booklet about the role of the built environment professions in international disaster response: you can download a copy here.
RTPI celebrates World Town Planning Day (8 November) each year in a variety of ways - see the special note below.
RTPI and CAP research for the Global Planners Network
Here's how RTPI and CAP are taking forward the GPN commitment to assessing the world's capacity for planning. We began by devising a tool to answer the questions: Where are the planners? Who are they? What challenges face them? What tools do they need to do their job?
In March 2008 RTPI and CAP launched their on-line self-diagnostic tool and invited planners from around the world to assess the capacity for planning in their country and the priorities for strengthening it. Within 5 months, over 1250 planners in over 100 countries responded by completing the tool. Taken together, these responses provide a rich account of what it means to practise planning throughout the world as volunteered by a good cross-section of the international planning community. What stands out is the extraordinary variety of issues that planners deal with in all kinds of development environments.
When the Global Planners Network met for its biennial Congress in Zhenjiang, China (31 October-2 November 2008), RTPI sent a delegation led by the President Janet O'Neill and including the researchers Will French and Lucy Natarajan. They presented the first findings of the capacity study to the Congress - the link on the research web-page will lead you to their report and its summary.
The work on the world's capacity for planning continues and has moved into a new phase. First, there are some detailed reports: a survey of the responses from Latin America, a briefing on issues of poverty and inequality, and an assessment of skills required. Next, responding to many heartfelt requests in the responses, we are working towards the creation of an on-line community of planners: a website where planners can exchange knowledge and experience, raise questions and start discussions. To read the latest newsletter about this part of the project, please click here.
Review of international strategic priorities
The UK Department for International Development has published a new White Paper on International Development, "Building our Common Future" (download PDF - 4 MB). It argues that rather than turn away when things get tough, we need to redouble our efforts - and that development is in our shared interest. Announcing it, Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for International Development, said "This White Paper will ensure that new and additional finance is made available, over and above our aid commitment to reach 0.7 per cent. of gross national income. We will also increase our investment in helping developing countries to mitigate and adapt to climate change."
Suppose you had the ear of the Secretary of State for a few minutes. What would you say to him, particularly about the distinctive contribution of planning to international development? We would like to know your views and your priorities. As a stimulus to discussion, you can see an introduction to a new Institute international strategy here on the RTPI website. It is easy to comment – just scroll down to the end of the article to add your view.
Anglo-German Climate Change Seminar January 2010
As part of its programme of contact with ARL, the German Academy of Spatial Research and Regional Planning, British and German academics and practitioners met in January for a post-Copenhagen review of planning and climate change. Click here to read the report.
World Town Planning Day - past and future
Read the RTPI statement for WTPD 2008 highlighting the fundamental role planning should play in responding to the urgent global challenges of explosive urbanisation, steep rises in poverty, widening inequalities and the catastrophic consequences of climate change. And for 2007, there was a warning from the President of the Commonwealth Association of Planners: governments round the world need to review their approach to urbanisation - before it is too late. In 2009, we marked the day with a press briefing for the London launch of the Global Report on Human Settlements from UN-HABITAT (read the report here) and an evening reception with RTPI London Region. The special event for 2011is announced at the top of this page.
| Title/Synopsis |
|---|
| No items |
Latest Articles
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 30-Nov-11 | RTPI International Committee |
| 11-Oct-11 | Opportunities for work and study in planning in the United Kingdom for overseas planners |
| 09-Aug-11 | Finding planning employment in New Zealand |
| 25-May-11 | The Habitat Professionals Forum |
| 17-Mar-11 | Disasters: immediate help |
| 11-Jan-11 | Finding work overseas as a planner |
| 06-Jan-11 | RTPI calls on Government to prioritise disaster risk reduction |
| 19-Dec-10 | Haiti Earthquake - what planners can do to help |
| 12-Oct-10 | Frequently Asked Questions about international planning |
| 19-Aug-10 | World Town Planning Day |
