Cliff Hague

Impacts of AirBnB regulation in New York

General, News Items

New York has long been a money spinner for AirBnB. In January 2023 there were 38,500 listings. As…

Planning, Sustainable Urbanisation and the Commonwealth

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Planning a Refugee Camp

Original Blogs CliffHague.com

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

Film Reviews, Original Blogs CliffHague.com

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.

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Local economic development lessons from US

News Items, Pre-2020

Working together to achieve a common vision for change is a key requirement for urban economic regeneration, argues a new report based on research in 4 US cities. The report is published by the UK-based Centre for Local Economic Strategies. The research looked at Cleveland, Pittsburg, Philadelphia and Providence, all cities that have faced major economic challenges…

What will be the impact of Brexit on planning in the UK?

News Items, Pre-2020

This blog was first published in June 2016, the day after the Brexit referenedum. A Brexit-induced crash in the markets seems likely to set the framework for the work of planners in the months ahead. I am writing early on Monday afternoon, 27 June 2016. The Pound has fallen to a 31 year low; shares…

Going local – A new era for planning in Botswana

General

Posted April 21, 2014 by cliffhagueShare I was in Botswana recently. Planning there is going through a significant transformation. New legislation that came into force in April 2014 will see significant devolution of planning powers to 16 District-level authorities. Twelve of these are rural. As planning goes local the challenge will be to deliver a more…

Elites treat the poor as disposable citizens – CV19 in India

2020, News Items

Dispatch from Delhi on the CV19 crisis in India’s cities. “The COVID-19 pandemic is deepening the existing ruthless and exclusionary practices in India’s big cities, where elites treat the poor as ‘disposable citizens’ clearly evident when we see thousands of poor migrants being stranded in the middle of nowhere, whereas the upper-class people continue to…

Mr.Tree – A Tale from the new China

World View Blog-2015

This blog was first posted on the Planning Resource website on 28 January 2012. I went to the cinema last night to watch a new film from China. I recommend “Mr Tree” as a film that gives you a flavour of the great transition that China is going through as people move to the cities. It shows…

Amsterdam, Formation of AESOP and a trip to a Planning Committee

Flashback to Cliff's Planning columns

My “Diary” article in 1987 records the formation of the Association of European Schools of Planning, AND of the Scottish Torquay United Supporters Club (which has not proved as long-lasting). The article was first published in Planning on 11 December 1987 and is reproduced with the kind permission of the editor. To see more of my old…

Shaping Metropolitan Growth

General

Metropolitan growth receives less attention than it deserves. The spread of metropolitan regions is one of the defining features of the age, yet as most of it is taking place in the developing world it goes largely unremarked by Western planners and urbanists. Of course, we have our own metropolitan regions that are deeply problematic…

Training planners to work with informality

News Items, Pre-2020

Planners on an innovative post-graduate course in Zambia are being trained to understand how informal development operates and how to deliver pro-poor planning. The scale of the challenges in rapidly urbanising African cities is familiar. What is less common is the direct engagement of planning students with the day to day realities of life in…

Scotland’s Planning Bill – who will “frontloading” work for?

Original Blogs CliffHague.com

This blog was first posted in December 2019. The passing of the Scottish Planning Bill marks the end of a tortuous period, during which it even seemed possible that the Bill might be withdrawn, so heavily had it been amended. However, the conflicts that surfaced are unlikely to go away. What changes has the Bill…

New housing floorspace will be the area of the Netherlands by 2025

World View Blog-2015

This blog was first posted on the Planning Resource website on 17 July 2012. The next generation is going to witness a staggering amount of new urban development as the world’s economic centre of gravity shifts towards Asia. Cities in both developed and rapidly urbanising countries need professional planning if they are to prosper. Companies…