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:
Levelling Up
What is ‘levelling up’, what are the barriers and how do you overcome them? On 15 July 2021, UK Prime Minister Johnson gave what was intended to be a major statement on ‘levelling up’ the country. It received a tepid reception, with a general consensus in the UK press that it was vague and repackaged past promises…
Expect more migration in future, report tells EU
This blog was first posted in April 2016. The pressure for migration into Europe will not go away, says a new report. The ongoing war in Syria is just one factor in the surge in the number of people seeking asylum in Europe, estimated by the UN to total 1 million in 2015. Looking across…
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…
The Housing Market Crisis in Sun-Belt US Cities
his blog was first posted on the Planning Resource website on 14 June 2011. After spending a month in the USA (the reason for the lack of recent blogs) I have really begun to grasp the scale of the housing market crisis there. The sub-prime US mortgage market triggered the global economic crisis in 2007-8.…
Small towns – Where stories are told
Small towns are home to many Scots; they are places that contribute significantly to Scotland’s economy, identity and national well-being. They are of cultural importance: their buildings, streets and parks tell Scotland’s story. 2013-09-18 Beginning of September the Built Environment Forum Scotland launched a microsite on small towns and a report that I have written about Scotland’s small towns.…
New UN goals should change the agenda for planners
The 2015-2030 Sustainable Development Goals to be adopted by governments at the United Nations next week pose a direct challenge and opportunity for planning and other built environment professionals. Your government is about to sign a commitment that from now until 2030 they will work to”Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. This is the…
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…
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,…
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…