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…
New York has long been a money spinner for AirBnB. In January 2023 there were 38,500 listings. As…
In 2010 the Commonwealth Association of Planners held its first Student Essay competition. The winners were Jeremiah Atho…
Ken Loach’s film, Kes, was released in 1969. What does it tell us about life in a coalfield…
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.
This was first posted in 2016. New Zealand’s right-wing minority government is amending the legislation that defines the planning system, to address what it calls problems with “cumbersome planning processes”. The Minister, Dr Nick Smith called it “a moderate reform Bill that will reduce the cost and delays for homeowners and businesses”. He introduced the…
Probably the outstanding example of small town regeneration in Scotland is West Kilbride. It is a coastal town about 45 kilometers from Glasgow. It has a population of just under 5,000 inhabitants. Although it has quite an affluent population, decline had set in by the mid-1990s, when about half of the retail properties on the town’s…
How do you evaluate a landscape? It is a question that lies at the heart of decision-making on controversial developments in the countryside, such as wind farms or new highways. Since the 1970s landscape evaluation has become a very technocratic process, much to the frustration of many non-professionals who may care deeply about a place…
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…
This item was written in 2018 about a report on the impact of Airbnb and similar platforms. It calls for tighter regulation. In parts of Edinburgh, the proliferation of Airbnb and its imitators is having a detrimental impact on local amenity and community cohesion, says a new report by Edinburgh’s Civic Trust, the Cockburn Association.…
This blog was first posted in October 2016. Earlier this week I was honoured to receive the OBE for services to planning, at an investiture at Buckingham Palace. The award of the OBE was made in the Birthday Honours list in June 2016. The investiture ceremony that I attended was held at Buckingham Palace, and…
Small towns are home to many Scots; they are places that contribute significantly to Scotland’s economy, identity and national well-being. They are of cultural importance: their buildings, streets and parks tell Scotland’s story. 2013-09-18 Beginning of September the Built Environment Forum Scotland launched a microsite on small towns and a report that I have written about Scotland’s small towns.…
This blog was first posted in April 2016. The pressure for migration into Europe will not go away, says a new report. The ongoing war in Syria is just one factor in the surge in the number of people seeking asylum in Europe, estimated by the UN to total 1 million in 2015. Looking across…
How do you create attractive and environmentally sustainable places? A new, updated edition of a major text provides powerful lessons and evidence. The first edition of Randall Arendt’s Rural by Design was published 20 years ago, and became a classic resource for a generation of planners and urbanists in North America. The new edition is even better, and has…
The ninth World Urban Forum opens on 7 February 2018, and I am here in Kuala Lumpur and will be reporting on it on this website and on other social media. The World Urban Forum (WUF) is held every other year, and in a different city each time. Hosted by UN-Habitat, it brings together representatives…