Impacts of AirBnB regulation in New York
New York has long been a money spinner for AirBnB. In January 2023 there were 38,500 listings. As…
Planning a Refugee Camp
In 2010 the Commonwealth Association of Planners held its first Student Essay competition. The winners were Jeremiah Atho…
Kes Revisited – The welfare state and community in the late 1960s
Ken Loach’s film, Kes, was released in 1969. What does it tell us about life in a coalfield…
Place Identity, Participation and Planning
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Regional and Local Economic Development
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Cliff is a freelance consultant, researcher, author and trainer. He was the Chair of the Cockburn Association 2016 – 2023.
He is Professor Emeritus of Planning and Spatial Development at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.
He is a Past President of the Royal Town Planning Institute, and of the Commonwealth Association of Planners.
He is a past Chair of Built Environment Forum Scotland.
He was awarded the O.B.E. in the 2016 Birthday Honours.
Books
Some articles fromall categories:
Listen to the “Rural Voice”
“The planning system has a significant role in supporting sustainable economic growth in rural areas.” This statement is from the Scottish Government’s Planning Policy. However, planning decisions in rural Scotland can often be very controversial, as Cliff Hague explains in his new blog post. 2013-02-05 There are a range of development pressures on the Scottish…
How businesses using Airbnb are reducing affordable housing in Montreal
“I studied the laws surrounding Airbnb all over the world. None are perfect. ” David Wachsmuth. Laws are almost irrelevant if you do not have access to Airbnb data to implement them ” says David Wachsmuth. Associate Professor in Urban Planning, McGill University. Despite legislation seeking to limit and control online short-term rentals, Montreal has five…
Geddes and Fellini – Place, Work and Folk
It is doubtful if the Italian film-maker Frederico Fellini knew of the work of the Scottish luminary Patrick Geddes – biologist, ecologist, sociologist, educationalist and planner. Fellini’s films have a strong sense of place, and of the relationship between people and place, which was an important theme for Geddes. I want to explore one of…
ESPON and the EU’s Territorial Agenda
This blog was first posted on the Planning Resource website on 22 June 2011. Budapest What can local and regional authorities do to speed economic recovery? What kind of actions are needed to make the pattern of development more sustainable? How can we make places more inclusive? The Territorial Agenda of the European Union 2020 (TA), agreed…
Scotland’s Living Heritage(s)
This blog on the inaugural lecture by Professor Máiréad Nic Craith, given at Heriot-Watt University on 29 May 2013, was first posted on the website of the Built Environment Forum Scotland on 4 June 2013. The appointment of Professor Máiréad Nic Craith to a chair in the School of Management and Languages promises to add…
How China’s economic woes might impact on local government
This ws first published in 2015. China’s slowing growth and rising debts have sent tremors through global markets. Urbanisation has been integral to the near double digit annual growth over recent years, so what does the slow down mean for regional and local development within China, and in particular for the local authorities? When I…
Using spatial data to deliver better health
Here in the UK the General Election has seen numerous skirmishes amongst the politicians about the National Health Service (NHS). They bombard us with figues in unimagnable “billions” of pounds. However, I have not seen any debate about how to make use of spatial data to make the NHS better informed and more responsive to…
The future of our urban parks and greenspaces
The value of parks needs to be rethought in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic. “People are now beginning to see the value of parks.” This was a central message from New York City Parks Convenor Mitchell Silver, during our public conversation on Zoom on 25 June 2020, as part of the Cockburn Association campaign…
Resilience of cities in the Global South
Resilience of cities is the theme of the latest issue of the French publication of Villes en Développement edited by my old friend Marcel Belliot. As the preface notes, resilience is now central to “approaches and strategies of governments partnering urban development and of funders.” It brings a holistic and interdisciplinary approach to understanding and managing urban development.…
Territorial Dynamics in Europe: Gateway functions in Cities
Territorial Dynamics in Europe: Gateway functions in Cities, ESPON Territorial Observation No.9, (2013) https://www.espon.eu/topics-policy/publications/territorial-observations/territorial-dynamics-europe-gateway-functions Co-author.