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
Link to buy
Regional and Local Economic Development
Link to buy
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:
World Urban Forum 9
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…
Growth and the commercialisation of public space in Edinburgh
This item was first posted in November 2019. A major controversy has developed in Edinburgh over a huge development that was allowed to go ahead in the World Heritage Site without planning permission. The London-based event organisers Underbelly have a contract with Edinburgh’s city council who are paying them a reported £800,000 to stage a…
International study of healthy cities and neighbourhoods launched
This itemwas first posted in 2018. A major project to compare urban practices in 14 cities will be led by a team based in Glasgow University in Scotland. A £7.1 million research project into urban conditions and practices has been awarded to Glasgow University. The money will be used to conduct research over a 4 year period,…
Ghana’s Urban Forum to focus on spatial planning
Ghana’s fifth National Urban Forum was convened on 25 August to reflect on the theme “Building Resilient Cities: Deepening Spatial Planning and Land Value Capture for Development in Ghana.” Previous meetings of the Forum have contributed to the Ghana Urban Policy and its Action Plan to improve city conditions. The Ghana Urban Agenda has been accepted at…
Levelling Up
What is ‘levelling up’, what are the barriers and how do you overcome them? On 15 July 2021, UK Prime Minister Johnson gave what was intended to be a major statement on ‘levelling up’ the country. It received a tepid reception, with a general consensus in the UK press that it was vague and repackaged past promises…
Territorial Dynamics in Europe: regions integrating Land and Sea
Territorial Dynamics in Europe: regions integrating Land and Sea, ESPON Territorial Observation No.8 (2013) https://www.espon.eu/topics-policy/publications/territorial-observations/territorial-dynamics-europe-regions-integrating Co-author.
Rural links vital for sustainable cities
The increasing global emphasis on the cities must not obscure the importance of rural areas and their links to cities. This is the argument in a valuable thoughtpiece by Christine Platt, Past President of the Commonwealth Association of Planners in reflecting on the preparations for the Habitat III summit in Quito in October 2016. Reflecting…
Values or illusions? Planners in difficult times
Seek the truth, speak the truth, defend the truth, live in truth. In my presentation to the closing session of the Association of European Schools of Planning annual congress, I drew on traditional Czech ideals to shape some messages for planners and planning educators. This blog provides an extended version of what I said. In…
Expect more migration in future, report tells EU
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…