I returned to the UK last week after an inspiring few days in Toronto, attending the Canadian Institute of Planners National Conference 2025 and the annual in-person meeting of the Planning Institutes Leadership Group.
This gathering offers senior leaders from national planning institutes in Canada, USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa a unique chance to share insights, aligning approaches, and strengthening the institutions we lead.
It was a pleasure to travel alongside RTPI President Helen Fadipe, who joined a panel of international planning institute presidents to discuss the future of planning in a changing world.
Helen’s discussion attracted an audience eager to hear insights from across the globe, and reaffirmed how much we can learn from one another as we respond to shared challenges in our respective planning systems.
The conference itself showcased a thoughtful and diverse programme. A highlight was the plenary keynote by Maayan Ziv, who challenged us to think beyond ramps, defining accessibility in a digital world.
We also had the opportunity to meet many of our Canadian colleagues and CIP Council Members, including OPPI President Claire Basinski. Helen went on to chair a hybrid meeting of the Global Planners Network.
It was peer-to-peer learning at its best, underpinned by a shared purpose and a recognition of the responsibilities we each carry on behalf of our members and the public.
Of course, no trip to Toronto is complete without soaking up the city itself, which remains one of the finest examples of dense, mixed-use, inclusive urbanism, where development continues apace while preserving a real sense of community.
