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:
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…
New opportunities for maritime spatial planning and Blue Growth
The concept of maritime spatial planning has been given a significant boost by a couple of recent actions in the European Union. As Maria Damanaki, EU Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, has commented, “Governments are waking up to the fact that we have just about reached the limit of what can be squeezed from…
Geddes and Fellini – Place, Work and Folk
It is doubtful if the Italian film-maker Frederico Fellini knew of the work of the Scottish luminary Patrick Geddes – biologist, ecologist, sociologist, educationalist and planner. Fellini’s films have a strong sense of place, and of the relationship between people and place, which was an important theme for Geddes. I want to explore one of…
Effective strategic planning
This item was first published in 2015. Passion for strategic spatial planning has too rarely endured, thus undermining precisely what it needs, which is a long term perspective. So often startegic planning is disregarded or under-resourced, but used effectively it could provide a means of delivering inclusive and sustainable development. Therefore research by a practising…
Science and Urban Climate Change
This blog was first posted in 2018. A paper in a leading scientific journal calls for much greater engagement of scientists in urban policy and practice. Politicians look for short term fixes. The public has no appetite for “experts”. Many practising planners and other built environment professionals disdain academics and say they don’t have time…
Bait movie – Nautical gentrification
The British film Bait, released in 2019, should be of interest to planners and urbanists internationally for the issues it raises about community and economic development. Bait is set in a fishing village in Cornwall, one of the poorest regions in England. After 20 years of regional development funding from the EU, GDP per capita remains only 68% of…
Heimatplanung (Homeland planning)
Ths blog was first posted in May 2018. As European countries become more inward-looking, Professor Klaus Kunzmann sees a possible opportunity for planners to rebuild the reputation of their profession. While spatial planning in Germany is gradually losing its former significance and influence, a new approach to planning is rising in the country: Heimatplanung (homeland planning). Following…
Temporary use of vacant spaces and buildings
Whether it’s an old church or the shell of a derelict factory, a gap site or an under-used parking lot, vacant land and buildings are a headache for planners and regeneration professionals. The impacts of vacany stretch beyond the site, creating a sense of decline and blighting neighbourhoods. Yet these left overs can be the…
Conserving traditional buildings in rural Turkey
Conserving traditional buildings in rural Turkey http://www.befs.org.uk/news/49/49/Conserving-Traditional-Buildings-in-Rural-Turkey/d,Blog 19 February 2013
50 years a planner
This blog was first posted in August 2018. It is 50 years ago since I took up my first post as a professional planner. This anniversary moment provides plenty to reflect on. In May 1968, while students built barricades on the streets of Paris, I took the train from Manchester to Glasgow for a job…