How Can Digital Planning Strengthen And Add Value To The Local Planning Review Process?

Core CPD Framework:

- Digital Planning

- Championing Planning

- Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Professional Ethics

- Housing

- 1 CPD Hours

Event Description

The session background and focus:

Digital Planning offers a great opportunity to planning practice and local authorities’ work and has increasingly been emphasised as a necessary path to facilitate, improve and effectivise plan-making, public engagement and development management. The UK Government has emphasised the need to shift to digital planning, prompting local authorities to adopt new digital planning methods. This is particularly important with the introduction of mandatory housing targets, a new 30 month local plan period and a persistent shortage of planning skills. Digitalisation offers a great tool for planners to deliver suitable, sustainable development opportunities for their communities.

Digital Planning involves the use of new technologies to facilitate planning processes through various digital tools and platforms that enable the storage, organisation, access, compilation, and processing of complex datasets. It allows the use of data analytics to address complex challenges facing local authorities, such as housing and infrastructure needs, as well as climate risks. It enables a holistic overview of planning processes, collaborations, and resources and supports evidence-based decision-making, putting smart project management tools in the hands of local authorities. Recent advancements in AI-powered software and platforms lay the groundwork for more intelligent city planning. However, the true benefit of digital planning relies on human intelligence, oversight, compassion and professional competence.

The session focus

The session, delivered by expert speakers from Urban Intelligence and PlanningHub will touch on different aspects related to the use and benefit of digital planning in the Local Plan Review Process, addressing the following aspects:

• Introduction to digital planning principles and tools, and their diverse applications.
• Use of digital planning to create a holistic overview of the planning process, collaboration, stakeholder interactions, resources and planning workflows for more cohesive plans.
• How digital planning supports data-driven priority-setting, decision-making, assessment of development scenarios and strategies, and creation of solutions.
• How digital planning supports interactive consultations and community engagement, and contributes to the optimisation of time and resources through for example, provision of consultation summaries and the consolidation of representations received in multiple formats from the public.
• Ways digital planning / AI helps accelerate housing delivery, assess infrastructure capacity and develop indications on different combinations of infrastructure.
• Use of digital planning in site-specific analysis, site identification and capacity assessment, site planning, feasibility, and priority-setting, and alignment of projects with suitable sites.
• Challenges to implementing the tools, accuracy, transparency, ethics, and staff capacity and leadership.

The session in context:

The session is part of a series of reflective and technical planning events envisaged by the CPD Committee under the RTPI London to address crucial and timely issues in planning and sustainability. Key topics include the new planning reforms and the role of strategic planning, the importance of empowering community engagement in city adaptations and renewal, and innovation in planning processes, particularly the role of digital planning in enhancing synergy and value within local planning review processes.

The event targets planners and is open to other professionals in the built environment. This initiative supports the RTPI's mission to champion the power of planning in creating prosperous places and vibrant communities.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes as a result of participation include:

• Understand digital planning principles and tools, with an awareness of their varied and evolving applications.
• Identify the range of benefits digital planning offers the local plan review, including a comprehensive overview of the planning process, streamlined workflows, support in priority setting and improved data-informed decision-making.
• Knowledge of digital tools’ approach to site-specific analysis and site capacity assessments, supporting quicker and more accurate appraisals of development potential.
• Knowledge of the role of digital technologies in enhancing public consultation and community engagement through interactive, accessible platforms, contributing to improved use of time and resources.
• Understand how digital planning and emerging technologies can support accelerated housing delivery, infrastructure capacity assessment, and scenario testing for different infrastructure combinations.
• Develop a reflective and critical approach to digital planning, acknowledging its opportunities and limitations and recognising the importance of ethical considerations, capacity building, and the need for values-led, human-centred leadership in planning practice.

Programme 

• Introducing the event and the speakers (3 min)
• Presentation by Urban Intelligence (30 min) (Title TBC)
• Presentation by PlanningHub (30 min)
• Break (10 min)