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:
Participatory 3D mapping: A tool for disaster risk reduction
This blog was first posted on the Planning Resource website on 15 May 2012. Natural disasters continue to claim lives and devastate families, particularly the global South. The poor are most vulnerable as they typically live in the most hazardous locations. However, this social and geographical reality also compounds the problems, because of the gaps…
Dr. Keith Thomas – An appreciation
The death was recently announced of Dr. Keith Thomas who for many years taught students of planning at Oxford Brookes University. The death was recently announced of Dr. Keith Thomas who for many years taught students of planning at Oxford Brookes University. Before moving to Oxford in the mid-1970s, Keith was a Senior Lecturer in…
Why the CV19 pandemic is a planning issue
The global pandemic raises some important questions about the links between public health and planning. With whole countries shut down and a soaring death toll, there are signs that it will not be long before a debate about the trade offs between health and economies becomes heated. At the moment, the professional body in the…
Amsterdam, Formation of AESOP and a trip to a Planning Committee
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…
Science and Urban Climate Change
This blog was first posted in 2018. A paper in a leading scientific journal calls for much greater engagement of scientists in urban policy and practice. Politicians look for short term fixes. The public has no appetite for “experts”. Many practising planners and other built environment professionals disdain academics and say they don’t have time…
A creeping privatisation of public space?
This blog was first publised in August 2017. Might plans for a make-over for Edinburgh’s West Princes Street Gardens lead to a partial privatisation of an iconic public space? West Princes Street Gardens in the centre of Edinburgh are an outstanding feature of the city. They sit below the spectacular castle. A bandstand is at…
New opportunities for maritime spatial planning and Blue Growth
The concept of maritime spatial planning has been given a significant boost by a couple of recent actions in the European Union. As Maria Damanaki, EU Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, has commented, “Governments are waking up to the fact that we have just about reached the limit of what can be squeezed from…
Review of the Scottish Planning System
The planned reform of the planning system in Scotland will end in tears. I have an article in the newspaper The Scotsman. It draws on the responses to the consultation on the proposals by the Scottish Government to review the planning legislation. My article argues that an opportunity is being missed. Instead of looking internationally for…
Susiya – A Palestinian village facing demolition
On a cold and blustery Sunday morning in February I visited Susiya, a Palestinian village in the hills outside Hebron. Today I heard that the homes of the villagers are likely to be demolished. The plan they presented to secure the future of their properties and the right to develop has been ruled to lack…
How to tackle shrinking cities
Murmansk – a shrinking post-socialist city Shrinking cities are a focus of growing concern. Globalisation has increased the vulnerability of cities to sudden adverse changes in their economic base. Austerity policies augment the problems. Loss of a key economic activity, can be followed by net out-migration of economically active age groups, falling tax revenues, an…