Moss Madden Student Award

'Second-Home Tourism and Sustainable Rural Communities in North Wales: A Case Study of the Llanengan Community'

Judges comments: The judges were impressed on this in-depth perspective on the topical issue of second homes in North Wales. The principal objective of this well written research project was to interpret and assess the perceived influence of second home tourism on the sustainability of a rural community, alongside understanding how well planning and policy interventions have been seen to address these impacts.

Underpinned by a case study approach, the student employed the use of interviews with representatives from different areas of governance. The research used this anecdotal information alongside GIS and secondary data analysis to provide an element of data triangulation, producing their own diagrams to explain the concepts that were being discussed.

The outcome of the research recommended that greater control and management of second homes were necessary in order to achieve sustainability community-wide, this included the suggestion that policy should empower local communities and allow them to contribute towards locally informed thresholds.

It recommended regulating second-home numbers alongside locally informed tax interventions in order to levy the number of second homes through deterrence or provide an avenue to fund the communities that were worst affected, instead of reintroducing housing on to the local market at inflated prices.

‘Planning for Children: The Challenges of having child-friendly public spaces, a case study approach of Egypt’

Judges comments: From the judge’s perspective this dissertation offered an intriguing discussion on children’s experience of the built environment. In particular, the researcher sought to evaluate the impact planning policy had on the wellbeing of children in the city of Cairo in Egypt. As was outlined by the author within the literature review, there is a lack of attention towards ‘Child Friendly Cities’ within Middle Eastern policy and a lack of prioritisation towards children’s health and wellbeing within public spaces.

Overall, the researcher conducted seven interviews, in order to gather deeper analysis and to understand stakeholder’s perceptions of the barriers preventing advances towards more child-friendly public spaces within the city. Participants were from both the public and private sector and worked in various development or design based professions within the city.

The judges were impressed how this well-structured piece developed, providing strong evidence towards the need to create places that are more child friendly, whilst also identifying a clear gap in literature and research, especially within the middle east.

The writer constructed the research clearly outlining the principles of child friendly cities and drew on relevant literature and international case studies to come to a well-rounded and informed conclusion. The work identified and recommended a need for greater child integration and engagement alongside more legislation that support Child Friendly City principles.

Sam is a planning graduate from the University of Sheffield and Birmingham and has worked for Tesni Properties for over six years where he currently holds the position of Planning and Development Manager. Sam has been an Associate member of the RTPI since 2018, and is currently working towards becoming fully chartered.

Georgina is a Senior Planner at Asteer Planning LLP. Having previously worked at Avison Young since September 2018, Georgina has experience of advising clients across a range of sectors, including residential, commercial, student, and mixed-use developments. Georgina was elected as a Chartered Member of the RTPI in December 2020 and currently sits on the Regional Activities Committee for the RTPI North West and is part of the Education, Careers and Mentoring Task Group.

Ben has spent most of his career working for Camden and Cheshire East Councils, writing planning policy and monitoring housing supply. He currently divides his time as a Principal Planner (Policy) for South Ribble council, independent consultancy and tutoring. He’s a supporter of ‘Garden Cities’ (having relocated to the Northwest from Welwyn Garden City) and new technologies which could ultimately lead to better informed decisions.