With politicians asking questions about the value of higher education, and some universities fearing financial ruin as a result of Covid-19, time to revisit one of my 2002 columns for Planning.
Unfilled posts and poorly targeted employment initiatives
Written by Cliff Hague
My column in Planning in 1987, has a contemporary feel in 2020 as issues of mass unemployment and Council cuts come to the fore once again.
Local history and a trip to a Planning Committee meeting. The second part of my Diary as published in Planning on 11 December 1987.
Amsterdam, Formation of AESOP and a trip to a Planning Committee
Written by Cliff Hague
My "Diary" article in 1987 records the formation of the Association of European Schools of Planning, AND of the Scottish Torquay United Supporters Club (which has not proved as long-lasting).
In a week when my term of office as President of the Royal Town Planning Institute came to a close, I also faced being made redundant.
The second and final part of my Diary in Planning from June 1989. You can read the first part by clicking here.
A chance to read my monthly Diary in Planning from June 1989, which starts in Berlin just months before the Berlin Wall came down. It also looks at the Adam Smith Institute's ideas for privatising streets - an idea that might be revived post-Covid19? Of course there have been many gated communities developed in the meantime. Click here to read the end of the article.
Kiel, Salford and the early days of predictive text
Written by Cliff Hague
In June 2000 my regular column in Planning reflected on design quality in German towns, the Blair Gpovernment's Urban Task Force, and ways in which predictive text created bizarre proposals in students' work.
"Good design can discourage cycle use, make roads safer and restore pavements to pedestrians and parked vehicles..."
Back in 2006 I wrote an article in Planning, which recalled my working environment in 1973. Here it is.
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Following the World Urban Forum in Barcelona in 2004, I was invited to write a short article for the UN-Habitat publication Habitat Debate. Many of the themes I introduced have now been taken forward in the International Guidelines for Urban and Territorial Planning (2015) and in the New Urban Agenda (2016).
The 2006 World Urban Forum was a significant step on the road to creating a New Urban Agenda. Here is my first hand account from July 2006 of how we went about re-inventing planning.
My article in January 2000 looked back and gazed into the future. How well did I do in anticipating change in British cities, planning and higher education?
The Stern report 2006: an economic case for action on climate change
Written by Cliff Hague
The Stern Report in 2006 seemed to signal a shift in attitudes to climate change. The article imagines a discussion between a Treasury mandarin and a businessman. Would this case convince Donald Trump or big business today?