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…
New York has long been a money spinner for AirBnB. In January 2023 there were 38,500 listings. As…
In 2010 the Commonwealth Association of Planners held its first Student Essay competition. The winners were Jeremiah Atho…
Ken Loach’s film, Kes, was released in 1969. What does it tell us about life in a coalfield…
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.
The Latvian Presidency of the EU has been pushing the case that towns have an important role to play in territorial cohesion. Key questions are what are the development ppotentials of towns and how can these best be realised? To this end, the ESPON programme has produced a commentary highlighting the main types of urban areas…
The Foreign Ministers of the 28 European Union countries have called on Israel “to halt plans for forced transfer of population and demolition of Palestinian housing and infrastructure” in the village of Susiya in the West Bank. Eleven members of the US Congress have also written to Secretary of State John Kerry about the plight…
A wide ranging international review of national urban policies highlights the importance to national development of coordinated planning and well-functioning urban areas. Urban planning is seen as an economic imperative. “The argumentthat well-functioning urban areas can help to unleash the development potential of nations is more persuasive than the argument that urban policy is about…
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.
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,…
Three contrasting films prompt important questions about the nature of communities, past and present, rural and urban. The word “community” is often invoked by planners and architects, but all too often with disregard for the realities. This week I have been to see three films that explore what communities are and how they function, while also…
This blog was first posted on the Planning Resource website on 22 June 2011. Budapest What can local and regional authorities do to speed economic recovery? What kind of actions are needed to make the pattern of development more sustainable? How can we make places more inclusive? The Territorial Agenda of the European Union 2020 (TA), agreed…
What can planners in Scotland (and the rest of the UK) learn from thinking and practice in other countries? For World Town Planning Day 2019 I did a blog that extolled ideas nurtured in Scotland that had relevance for the rest of the world. Now it’s time to flip the focus and look the other way. In…
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.
This item was first posted in October 2019. Pakistan is suffering from chronic underinvestment in urban planning. The leading newspaper in the Punjab has run a story about unfilled professional planning posts, noting some of the negative consequences. The article in Dawn, states that “Many professionals working in the public and private sectors have either left…