Ten reasons why Helsinki needs do-it-yourself urban planning

Posted on: 12 February 2014
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News

Helsinki’s City Planning Department is in the process of expanding the city into a 5.5 hectare piece of land on the northern edge of a neighborhood called Pikku Huopalahti that now hosts obsolete university buildings and green buffer zones. The author of this blog is a member of a seven-strong team of urbanists who have taken the initiative of illustrating their own interpretation of what the area could look like in the future. More than anything, their aim is to introduce the “urban” back into Helsinki’s urban planning. Their message with this plan is ‘no more sprawl’.

Read more online

Planning for economic development

Posted on: 10 February 2014
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News

The Welsh Government has published guidance on how economic development should be considered in the planning system.

Read more online

Smithfield Market: Public inquiry

Posted on: 7 February 2014
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News

The Public Inquiry into the proposed partial demolition of Smithfield General Market, the Annex, and Redhouse opens 11th February 2014, and is scheduled to last for 12 days, until Friday, 28th February.  Taking place at the Basinghall Suite at Guildhall, the inquiry is open to members of the public. Further details of the inquiry, including all the witness evidence submissions are available online.

Find out more online

Highgate Neighbourhood Forum: Case study

Posted on: 5 February 2014
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News

Chair of the Highgate Neighbourhood Forum explains how the Forum got to where it is now and sets out its current activities and plans for the future.

Read more online

Kaleidoscope city: Reflections on planning and London

Posted on: 3 February 2014
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News

This document, published to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the Royal Town Planning Institute, contains a number of contributions, looking at the history of planning in London and at how it will be at the heart of London’s future, playing a fundamental role in securing its status as the world’s premier place to live, work, visit and do business.

Read more online

Allotment disposal guidance: safeguards and alternatives

Posted on: 31 January 2014
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News

The statutory and policy criteria councils must meet in order to obtain the Secretary of State’s consent to dispose of allotment land.

Read more online

A coastal concordat for England

Posted on: 30 January 2014
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News

The coastal concordat sets out key principles for coordinating the consenting process for coastal development in England.

Read more online

Planning positively through partnership

Posted on: 30 January 2014
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News

The planning system is vital for shaping the future growth of our society. Where it works well, it is one of the best tools that we have to unlock economic growth and to deliver the homes and jobs that are needed in our towns and cities. However, for this to happen developers, councils and local communities must work together to create effective partnerships, and do this as early as they can in the planning process, before the planning application is submitted. This publication brings together case studies that highlight the huge breadth of effective partnership working that is now taking place, from small residential sites to large inner-city regeneration schemes. 

Read more online

10 commitments for effective pre-application engagement

Posted on: 30 January 2014
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: News

Pre-application engagement should lead to high quality and appropriate development schemes being granted planning permission more quickly. Early, collaborative discussions between developers, public sector agencies and the communities affected by a new development can help to shape better quality, more accepted schemes and ensure improved outcomes for the community. Representatives of all those groups most involved in these discussions have come together to agree a set of commitments that all the sponsors have committed to. These commitments set out the positive spirit that should be embodied in pre-application engagement and the arrangements that should make early exchanging information and advice better value for all.

Read more online

Towards a sustainable and just city region? Looking at Berlin, London and Paris. Berlin, 29 November 2013

Posted on: 30 January 2014
By: mackene
No Comments »
Filed under: Events presentations

This is the third seminar of the Regional Studies Association’s Research Network on Government Metropolitan Regions within a Localist Agenda. Berlin is currently in the process of developing a new spatial development strategy, the Stadtentwicklungskonzept 2030 (StEK 2030). Other plans and policies to shape the growing metropolitan region are also well under way, such as the new housing strategy and a new strategy of how to deal with municipal real estate. Many of these policies have been influenced by civil society stakeholders who demand a more sustainable development of the city, both in terms of climate change and socially. Extensive public participation processes have been launched to come up with development strategies, which will be perceived as ‘just’ while at the same time supporting Berlin’s economic growth. The conference discussed the proposed strategies and participatory approaches and whether they are as ‘just’ and ‘sustainable’ as promised. It will look at similar proposals in London and Paris and explore what these new approaches mean regarding current debates on governance, localism or sustainable urban development. Presentations and a report of the event are available online.

Find out more online