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:
Planning a growing metropolis: Lahore
This blog was first published in October 2014,and is reproduced by kind permission of the editor of the Planning Resource website. Last week I was in Pakistan, speaking at an international conference on Town Planning and Urban Management. It was an opportunity to revisit Lahore for the first time in 20 years and to experience…
Long-established Planning course to close
The closure of one of the oldest undergraduate Planning courses in the UK has been announced. The BSc (Hons) in Town Planning at Heriot-Watt University, one of the oldest undergraduate Planning courses in the UK, has ceased to recruit new students. The course had been under pressure for some time over concerns about recruitment. To…
Can innovation save town centres?
Town centres are dying. The economic crisis has highlighted the malaise. There are empty shops, as people head to the edge of town supermarket. Internet shopping replaces the trip to the store downtown. Prominent buildings once used for public functions such as town halls, post offices or churches stand empty too, as services have been…
Best ways to enhance Edinburgh
I gave the Cockburn Association annual lecture in Edinburgh on 27 October 2016. I have now written it up and you can read it. The Cockburn Association was formed in 1875 and can claim to be the oldest civic association in the world. It is a pleasure and an honour for me to be its Chair and…
1972: The End of an Era?
This blog was first posted on the Planning Resource website on 24 April 2012. This week Planning magazine celebrates its 40th birthday. At this critical juncture, the point where mid-life crisis is supposed to kick in with a vengeance, I thought that I should look back to where I was in 1972, while still taking…
Self-build City: How Aleppo is growing and why security of tenure is needed
This blog was first published on the Planning Resource website on 25 February 2011. Aleppo has made it to the UNESCO World Heritage List. A historic crossroads location on trade routes that criss-crossed the Middle East and connected it to Asia and Europe generated the wealth to invest in the built environment. The result is…
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…
India launches Smart Cities competition
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week launched his government’s response to the urbanisation challenges it faces. The Smart Cities initiative was announced alongside a “Housing for All by 2022” programme. The aim is to create new Smart Cities while also regenerating old urban areas and addressing sustainability issues. The 100 Smart Cities will be…
Stores no more? How shops are changing to meet challenges from e-retailing
As e-shopping eats into the markets previously dominated by traditional shops and stores, what will the retail store of the future look like? Are the malls and the arcades a relic of the last century? What does it mean for our towns and cities? A new article on a specialist retailing website suggests that in the USA…