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:
What’s new about the New Urban Agenda?
This blog was first posted in February 2018. South Africa is engaging fully with the New Urban Agenda, and posing some fundamental questions about what it means to be a planner in today’s world. Confession: I only went into one session at the World Urban Forum today. Lest it seems that I was skipping classes,…
The Stern report 2006: an economic case for action on climate change
The Stern Report in 2006 seemed to signal a shift in attitudes to climate change. The article imagines a discussion between a Treasury mandarin and a businessman. Would this case convince Donald Trump or big business today? This article was first published in Planning on 1 December 2006, and is reproduced by kind permission of…
Sri Lanka plans “Megapolis” to boost growth
The Sri Lankan government recently created a new ministerial post – Minister of Megapolis and Western Province Development. The brief is to oversee the creation of a huge urban area roughly 95 kms long with the capital Colombo at its heart. The $300billion project will involve new development and urban renewal on a scale never…
A World Viewtime-line of planning over the past century:
In 2013 I helped RTPI construct a timeline to tell the story of planning 1914-2014 for their centenary year. Inevitably the focus was on the Institute itself and events in the UK. However, it set me wondering what a “World View” of planning over that 100 years might look like? If you had to nominate…
Planning and politics
This first appeared in Planning on 29 November 2002 and is reproduced by kind permission of Haymarket Publications.
A high rise future?
My article in January 2000 looked back and gazed into the future. How well did I do in anticipating change in British cities, planning and higher education? This article first appeared in Planning 14 January 2000. It is reproduced by kind permission of the editor.
NOlympics or GlOlympics
This blog was first posted in December 2015. Klaus Kunzmann proposes a novel approach to staging the Olympic Games after Hamburg and Boston say “No”. Last week, in a referendum, the citizens of Hamburg voted against hosting the Olympics in 2024. To the surprise of the media and a very respected and supportive social democrat…
Cities for people to invest in – or to live in?
We are building cities to attract investment, not cities for people to live in, argued David Harvey, the distinguished geographer, speaking in Montevideo. Harvey argued that in times of economic crisis, one escape strategy has been to invest in the built environment, as a way to create opportunities for capital and to get potentially rebellious…
Convenor, RTPI Scottish Branch, 1983
I was elected Convenor of the Scottish Branch of the RTPI for 1983. The picture shows how the Branch’s magazine reported it. Between 1975 and 1987 the Radical Institute Group (RIG) produced a manifesto backed by a slate of candidates in RTPI elections and also contested some Branch elections. In standing against the sitting vice-convenor…
Why the world needs an urban post-2015 Sustainable Development Goal
Posted May 6, 2014 by cliffhague Share Will the UN adopt a post-2015 Sustainable Development Goal addressing urbanisation and human settlements? The draft for the new goals will be agreed early in June, before going to the UN General Assembly for what is expected to be formal endorsement. Thus this month is crucial, and planners, other construction professions, urban…