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:
Spatial Planning in Europe – the last 100 years
The European Council of Spatial Planners has just published a book to mark “A Centenary of Spatial Planning in Europe”. It is a compendium in which the Introduction is followed by 32 chapters that range far and wide in their concerns and approach. What does the book tell us about where planning in Europe has come from…
Article in ‘A Week in Palestine’ November 2015
This article, based on the work of our International Advisory Group to UN-Habitat, appeared in the magazine A Week in Palestine, November 2015, pp.18-22 http://thisweekinpalestine.com/international-experts-call-for-fundamental-changes-in-israels-approach-to-planning-and-development-in-area-c/
Ravages of Hurricane Sandy – Planning for disasters
Hurricane Sandy was the largest tropical storm ever recorded in the Atlantic, covering an area 900 miles across, with 150km per hour winds bringing torrential rain. We have all been stunned by the impact that it has had on the Eastern Seaboard of the USA. Without in any way belittling this, it is important to…
China plans “sponge cities”
Faced with increased urban flooding, China is seeking to create “sponge cities” that can absorb water. China’s rapid urbanisation has been accompanied by increased rates of urban flooding. The number of Chinese cities affected by floods has more than doubled since 2008. While water management was integrated into traditional Chinese urban development, the last 40 years have…
WUF10 – Disasters waiting to happen
This is my third blog from the 10th World Urban Forum in Abu Dhabi in February 2020. Today has not been a disaster! Far from it, there have been some really good stories to hear at the World Urban Forum. But I want to put the theme of disasters at the heart of this blog.…
Smart China
In his Guest Blog, Klaus Kunzmann reports from China of the pressures to make “smart cities”. Thrilled by the promises of the big data corporations in Silicon America and the success of Alibaba, China’s e-shopping giant, Chinese cities are eager to become smart. Listening to advice from clever international and local business consultants they accept,…
National Planning prioritises Climate and Nature
Scotland’s fourth National Planning Framework puts climate and nature centre-stage. The Scottish Government is seeking to “transform planning” by putting the twin crises of climate and nature at the heart of the planning system. National Planning Framework 4 is one of the first national-scale planning documents in the world to confront the urgent challenges of climate…
See Urbanisation as a Positive – or Fail
This blog was first posted on the Planning Resource website on 11 July 2011. A third of the world’s people are on the move, says Billy Cobbett, the Manager of Cities Alliance. Addressing the World Planning Schools Congress in Perth, Western Australia, Mr. Cobbett called for planners to transform the current wave of urbanisation into a sustainable…
Craft-led small town regeneration
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…
Learning from Oregon
I am just back from spending 3 weeks in Oregon. What can IC members learn from that beautiful part of the world? Oregon in the Pacific North-West of theUSA shares a number of features with the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). 2012-08-30 It is relatively peripheral within the continental land mass and in relation to the major urban…