Enormous convention in American city with a 'golden' boulevard

Having just about recovered from travelling back from Down Under, it was off to the final major international destination as 2009 President – the USA and the American Planners Association Convention.

This year, it was in Minneapolis – a north central USA city, where the temperatures varied from 40 to 84 degrees Fahrenheit!

This is a typical American city, with the grid iron layout, but with some interesting features, including one of the ”best streets” in the USA – a dual carriageway landscaped boulevard, with extremely expensive houses on either side! A trip around the city allowed us to enjoy the beauty of acres of parks and green corridors and Hiawatha Falls – pause for country song!

The Convention itself, as I had been alerted by previous Presidents, is enormous – 4,500 delegates, 1,000 workshops, seminars and plenary sessions – and I was able to present to a number of them, including about 1,500 audience, on “sustainable urbanism”.

It was interesting to compare the “performance” of different countries in dealing with the primary issues of today. I felt that the UK was well ahead on sustainable transport and trams, but some way behind other countries on addressing climate change.

However, we should correct this at our own Planning Convention and the launch of the RTPI’s “Planning to Live with Climate Change” strategy.

We clearly have a deep and effective level of regulation and public sector intervention in the UK, but are less successful in engaging our employers in planning-friendly philanthropy and corporate social responsibility.

One of the best sessions we went to was the Regional Studies Association session, chaired by RSA CEO Sally Hardy, where Sheffield University Professor Gordon Dabinett, MRTPI, spoke about “Mega Regional Spatial Planning”. He drew attention to the need to plan for some issues, such as the economy, transport and energy in areas that crossed international boundaries – not just regional ones. I hope we can use his expertise to devise RTPI advice to respond to the Conservative Party’s decision to remove English regional bodies.

Another memorable presentation was from Scott Shuford, of Onslow County, concerning Local Economic Development and Climate Change. Scott drew attention to fiscal, safety and migration consequences of climate change and, interestingly, the local consequences of a “Green Economy”, including effects on agriculture and, surprisingly, insurance! It demonstrated the need for planners to think and act laterally in addressing this issue.

The Global Planners Network featured, and we hope to announce details of future mechanisms for co-operation at the Planning Convention, to which I invite all readers of my blog to attend.

I have to admit to being a little travel weary, but the next few weeks will see me travelling around the UK on my National and Regional visits, so I hope to meet a number of you then.

Martin Willey

2009 RTPI President

International duties in Australia

On your behalf, I am taking on some international duties in Australia and the USA.

The rationale for international work, by the “premier” professional planning institute in the world, is firstly self interest – we benefit hugely from sharing knowledge with our international colleagues. Getting on for five per cent of our members' work internationally and come together under the International Committee and Network, chaired by Vincent Goodstadt, and managed so well for many years by Judith Eversley. There are also particular initiatives that have a global reach and for which an international effort is essential, through governments and the UN.

Secondly, we have a professional obligation to offer our skills to areas elsewhere, in greater need, and sometimes a joint international approach is a good way of doing this. You will recall that this is one of the reasons I chose LINK Community Development in Africa as my Presidential Charity.

The reason for this long introduction is that my first commitment was to meet Marni Cappe, the President elect of the Canadian Institute of Planners. Marni is a long-standing friend of the RTPI and, when her husband was Head of the Canadian Consulate in London, invited the Board to meet there to demonstrate her support for UK/Canadian co-operation.

At the meeting this week, we discussed the Global Planners Network and, interestingly, one of the global issues where the UK can offer real experience to other countries, which is in “public intervention.”

In many other countries, the private sector rules on development, often operating in partnership at the local level but not necessarily with a national government policy lead. Marni has and continues to work with the Canadian Government and, together, we might offer the Americans and others, an interesting perspective on National Government intervention, not least in the light of the stated aims of President Obama?

My final meeting was with Rynd Smith and Tino Hernandez, when we met Bob Neil, the Conservative Shadow Planning Minister and John Howell, the Conservative Shadow Communities and Local Government Minister. This was one of a series of meetings we are holding with all the political parties. The meeting, inevitably, was confidential, but you will recall that one of my presidential objectives was to increase the profile of planners and planning, and improve our influence. This type of meeting is important and others in a similar vein will follow.

The arrangements for my “Leaders of Today” and “Leaders of Tomorrow” Awards are now in place, thanks in particular to Charles Veal, our energetic Members Services Manager. The details can be found on the RTPI website at www.rtpi.org.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=2463 – and I look forward to recognising individuals, as well as projects, who have demonstrated “Planning – delivering solutions” - my 2009 theme, during my visits.


Philippa and I left for Darwin on Thursday, April 2nd, 2009, for the Australian Institute of Planners Annual Convention. I will be presenting some of the results of the Global Planners Network international planning capacity exercise, the “Self Diagnostic Tool”, so ably completed by Will French and Lucy Natarajan, and talking about international co-operation.




Above, Darwin city skyline - photo by courtesy of Tourism Australia.


I will report back and I’m sure that, like my regional and national visits, there will be plenty of scope to capture “Planning Solutions” as per my Presidential theme.

Martin