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:
Informal development, planning and sustainable urbanisation
The third report on The State of African Cities , published in 2014, shows how informal development is a key force in the continent’s urbanisation, yet also poses major dilemmas. The report’s sub-title “Re-imagining sustainable urban transitions” suggests both the need to come up with new answers, but also the elusiveness of solutions. Anybody interested in Africa,…
Other European projects
ERASMUS + Erasmus+ http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/index_en.htm is an EU programme supporting education, training, youth and sport. SWECO Urban Futures AB, Sweden http://www.sweco.se/sv/Sweden/ 2013: Case study report on housing regeneration in Wester Hailes, Edinburgh. INTERACT INTERACT is an EU programme that promotes exchange of knowledge and best practices amongst cooperation programmes. TEMPUS The TEMPUS programme supports the modernisation of higher…
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…
EU INTERREG projects
The INTERREG programmes aim to improve the effectiveness of regional policies and instruments within Europe. It promotes international cooperation and exchange of know-how between partners engaged in the making and delivery of policies and actions for regional and local development. Cliff has worked as an external expert on a number of INTERREG projects.
Urbanism, exclusion and change in South Asia
The changes taking place in South Asian cities are th focus of a major conference in Lahore next year, for which proposals for paper are now invited. The organisers make the point that much urban research has focused on Europe and North America, while the dramatic urbanisation of South Asia has received much less attention.…
How can we build capacity in Planning in the Commonwealth?
This blog was first posted on the planning resource website on 3 July 2011. Share Janet Strachan (Commonwealth Secretariat) hears about planning education in Ghana from Dr. Inkoom, while Dr. Lauence Carmichael from University of the West of England swops notes with Dr.Alias Abdullah of Malaysia’s International Islamic University The Maldive Islands: annual increase in…
Conscious Cities – new ways of thinking about places
This blog was first posted in May 2016. The first issue of a new journal gives insights to new ways of thinking about cities. “Conscious Cities proposes a radical shift away from the last few decades’ prioritisation of efficiency over more people-centric considerations” argues Itai Palti in his editorial to the first issue of the journal…
A brand-led approach to saving town centres
There is much concern at present about the plight of town centres, especially in small and medium-sized towns. There are many more empty shops as the economic problems hit consumers and businesses. However, there are also structural underlying problems. The growth and convenience of large edge-of-town supermarkets and retail warehouses has badly impacted on businesses based…
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…
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…