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

Busy week has yielded many rewards

What a busy and rewarding week!

Rynd Smith, Tino Hernandez and I held three stakeholder briefing meetings with some really important players - on one day!

First we met David Curtis, Regional Director of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), who had asked to meet us, as the Director with responsibility for dealing with the RTPI (and other professional bodies).

This meeting followed the earlier meeting with Sir Bob Kerslake, mentioned in a previous blog. The conversation was wide ranging and covered the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) accessing our Networks to deliver advice and for consultation; the HCA and Regions, in particular future links, regarding the delivery of HCA Regional Investment Plans; promoting Design Review Panels, a CABE initiative, funded by the HCA; and HCA engagement in my regional visits.

David has an exceptional record of both delivery of the revitalised town centre in Sheffield and co-ordination of all the public and private stakeholders in that process. It’s nice to have an MRTPI in his position!

We then met Huw Morris, Editor of Planning Magazine, to discuss our RTPI campaigns. We pressed Huw as to whether the RTPI pages might feature earlier in the magazine. He surprised us by saying that we were between the two most read pages of Development Control Casebook and the advertisements.
From a recent survey of their 23,000 readers, the RTPI pages had a reading level of between 55% and 60%!

Next, on to the House of Lords, to meet a long time friend of the RTPI, Lord Richard Best, as President of the Local Government Association, with Martin Wheatley, LGA Policy Director.

I’m sure the surroundings helped because we reached an understanding on a number of areas. This included increased co-operation between the LGA and RTPI, to promote Politicians in Planning Association (PIPA) membership to the LGA councillors and cabinet members; discussions with local authority chief executive officers on planning and co-operation on the promotion of Planning Aid.

The rest of the week included the Executive Board (ExBo), which had a huge agenda, upon which others will report, and one of the liveliest General Assemblies in recent years - discussing policy input to Richard Summer’s, Rynd Smith’s and the Planning Policy and Practice (PPP) Committee’s Planning for Climate Change paper that will be submitted to Margaret Beckett MP, the Planning Minister, at the Planning Convention in June.

Specialist groups of the General Assembly (GA) worked before, during and after the GA, to provide clear direction and best practice examples so that the document will provide a clear and wide ranging professional agenda and toolkit on this essential subject.

I also attended the Planning Convention Steering Group, chaired by Mike Hayes. The numbers are holding up well in the current climate, but more delegates would be welcome at the most important RTPI event of the year!

It will be even better this year, with several important policy and guidance papers being launched by the RTPI and others. Also, special awards are on offer, such as that for the Network securing the highest number of conversions of non-members to members, and the Region/Nation that secures the most Learning Partners.

Most importantly, Sue Percy’s quality check of all sessions will ensure that the highest standard of advice will be on offer.

Finally, both CLG and ExBo will be making themselves available to RTPI members for discussion on any issue that concerns you.

Martin Willey

2009 RTPI President

Adventures in Oz

The Presidential trip to Australia is one of the highlights of the Presidential Year and 2009 was no exception.

The Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) Annual Convention was held in Darwin in the Northern Territories, well within the Tropics, with high temperatures and humidity albeit at the end of the Australian summer.

From our arrival at the airport, and PIA bus to the hotel and conference centre on the edge of the harbour, we found the place beautiful and energetic.





At the convention hotel, we were met by our “buddy” Jane Jose, a senior planner in Sydney, who subsequently received one of the PIA President’s award for a visioning process in Sydney. She and an excellent event organiser, Larissa Hansen, took me through my programme.

This involved my presentation on the Global Planners Network (GPN) international capacity initiative, managed by the RTPI, discussions with colleagues from Australia, New Zealand, the USA and the Pacific Islands on the GPN, and attendance and contributions to events concerning Eco Towns and Affordable Housing.

The President of the PIA is Neil Savery, the state and territory planner for Canberra, whose dry sense of humour was typical of the Aussies. He opened the convention in shorts, open neck shirt and long socks with garters, acquiring the nickname “Akela”.




In his closing speech, he featured an unfortunate incident when my M & S underwear, sent to the laundry at my hotel returned, much to the delight of my wife, as Pierre Cardin for a waist of around 28 inches. Those of you who know me will be aware that my underwear could probably be used as a sail for a 21 foot schooner but sadly I did not recover them! The mind boggles as to the reaction of the unwitting recipient...

Returning to more serious matters, the Australian Institute has around 7,000 members, but there are separate Territorial bodies with their own resources and this structure is also paralleled in Canada.

The country has recently suffered floods and terrible fires but two issues particularly resonated with the UK planning environment.

Firstly, the limits imposed on new development by shortage of infrastructure, especially water supply. I was amazed at how many rural properties rely solely on rainwater, collected during the rainy season, for all their annual water needs – perhaps we should be more ambitious in requiring surface water storage to be a feature in all new development.

Secondly, there are issues surrounding the integration of the indigenous population, the aborigines. The parallels here concerned our UK investment in our own disadvantaged communities, although the aborigine claims for land occupied by them for hundreds of years does not compare. I will write a fuller report on lessons in communication and engagement, but the need for a common language and respect for history drew direct parallels.





Finally, we spent a great deal of time with the Lord Mayor of Darwin, Graeme Sawyer. He wished to learn from the UK experience in a number of areas – affordable housing, tall buildings, the impact of new arts and cultural buildings on the city economy and, most significantly, how to secure optimum benefits from the recent discovery of oil and gas, just offshore from the city.
He may visit the UK and, if so, we will direct him to Aberdeen regarding oil, show him alternative technologies, such as wind farms, that might be funded by oil, but will remain after oil runs out. We will also show him the impact of arts facilities on the local economy.

We left Australia impressed by the number of dual qualified [planners MRTPI and PIA, and by the warmth (and healthy competition) between the two nations.

Martin Willey

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

Seeking more attention for rural communities

I thought I’d start this blog with a question?

What does “mediation of space – making of place” mean to you?

If a comparison is made with, say, the American Planning Association strapline “Creating Great Communities”, they have a message that is clearly understandable to anyone, is positive and might even be measurable.

The reason I ask is that on my trips, from conversations with the membership, the RTPI strapline is regularly questioned, in particular, the “Mediation of Space” element, which seems counter-intuitive and very difficult to explain, not least to the occasional journalist. In this 21^st century age of communications, where the profession is regularly under scrutiny, might we try and discover a message that more effectively reflected what we, as a profession, are about?

My last week ended with Philippa and my attendance at the West Midland Ball in Birmingham.

The photo above shows, from left, me with my wife Philippa, Sue Manns and Ian Dove QC.

This is my second visit to the RTPI WM, and they are a challenging and lively bunch, with clear ambitions to see a change in the quality of development in their region. The Region has a very clear identity, one that, as an Institute, we should seek to promote and celebrate.

When I next go up, our HQ communications team will offer some ideas on taking this issue further.

We met lots of members and their guests but it was a particular pleasure to meet a Young Planners married couple – the first winner of the Young Planner of the Year award, Julie Morgan, and her husband, Mark Walton, the Chairman elect of the WM Branch. I wonder if we have any other YP couples. In my inauguration address, I mentioned well known planners whose children had taken up planning. It would be nice to know where a planner had married a planner!

On the Monday, I represented you at a meeting hosted by the sadly about to retire, CEO of the Commission for Rural Communities, Graham Garbutt, where the RTPI, TCPA, LGA and other bodies representing the rural areas are seeking to prepare a Prospectus for Rural Communities that seeks to redress the balance of attention given to urban areas.

Mathew Taylor MP, whose excellent report on rural areas is about to receive a Government response, is a member of the CRC group and is an outstanding champion for the rural cause. The RTPI supports his proposals and I believe that the CRC Prospectus will provide a real opportunity to offer a multi body approach to rural community engagement in planning for our countryside areas and communities.

Finally, a small team of officers and members held the second of what will become a regular series of meetings with senior civil servants at DCLG. We commenced this programme with an open agenda and a broad purpose, on top of other arrangements, of improving professional member communications between the mother department and the Institute. One of the RTPI’s current campaigns is to promote the application of resources to delivering the LDF programme quickly, especially in the current economic climate. The DCLG is already supporting the acceleration of the LDF programme at regional level and we considered how best the RTPI might sustain that objective through our structures. John Baker was there as Chair of the Development Plan Network and offered a clear insight into both the availability of skills and processes but the need for greater investment at the local authority level. The RTPI will continue to offer a leadership role to our members and their employers and, in my regional visits, expect me to be promoting this issue.

A quieter week this one and a good thing I visited Scotland last week! England 25 Scotland 12 at Twickenham…

Martin

Visiting the Land of Scots

My wife Philippa and I travelled up to Edinburgh last Tuesday evening to attend a number of events in Scotland on behalf of RTPI members. We have a great affection for Edinburgh and my maternal grandfather was a Mossman, a border Scot! Our youngest daughter, Alex, attended university there so we visited regularly buying up most of what IKEA Edinburgh had to offer (then having to shift it down south when she left)! Ian Rankin and his detective stories of Inspector Rebus show the dark side of this great city but for us, the sun is almost always shining and for this visit it was crisp and bright - Scotland at its best.

We started at the RTPI in Scotland Office run by the enthusiastic and able Director, Veronica Burbridge and her team of Annette, James and Charles. RTPI Head of Research, Jenny Crawford is based at the office too along with Research Assistant Kendra Gracie, who also supports the Commonwealth Association of Planners Secretary General Cliff Hague. They are a smashing bunch and made us feel extremely welcome.

Our first engagement was meeting with officers of the Edinburgh Planning Department, Damian, David and Dorothy (the 3 Ds!) who took us on a walking tour to show us conservation and development schemes around Princes Street (as seen in the picture courtesy of City of Edinburgh Council), the main shopping street overlooking Edinburgh Castle and the Castle Gardens. The area is suffering temporarily because of the introduction of a new tramline from Leith on the waterfront, through the city centre and out to the airport in the west just short of the M8 to Glasgow. However, once complete, the tram will reinforce a spine of communications linking residential areas with employment, culture and education in a safe and attractive form of public transport – what a great initiative.

The design challenges of a World Heritage Site and the motor car has resulted in some good schemes notably St Andrew Square (an award winner the next day) onto which the new Harvey Nichols store fronts. There was much honesty in reviewing schemes and certainly some of the careful mixtures of new and refurbished development proposed will transform Princes Street and give it the design reputation it deserves as the “High Street” of Scotland. This new vision for the city centre, known as the “string of pearls” vision, will rejuvenate the area and see the street divided into distinctive blocks (the so-called pearls – as shown in the attached illustration courtesy of Jonathan Guthrie/Project Edinburgh). I could see why most planners working in Edinburgh either had been there or intended to remain there, for some time. It is a beautiful city with many opportunities for even more good planning. As someone whose career has been throughout the country, albeit in some attractive places, I admire those who give their lives to one place and can see the results of their hard work realised. All power to your elbow Edinburgh City Planning Department!

After lunch I addressed the Scottish Young Planners Conference alongside Simon Pallant espousing the benefits of Planning Aid and Nicola Hay from the Environment Department of the Scottish Government explaining their approach to Place Making and sustainable development, in particular Eco-Towns. The Young Planners are a lively bunch and under the able chairing of Prof. Trevor Davies, ex. Planning Cabinet member of Edinburgh Council, there was a healthy dialogue and exchange of views.

I also remained on the stage to participate in a discussion with David Harding promoting the value of public art and Alistair McIntosh demonstrating people power in planning using the example of the Isle of Eigg, a Hebridean island located off the West Highlands of Scotland acquired by the community through a public world wide appeal. These two sideways looks at the world of planning were both refreshing and humbling; two great men giving up their lives to their chosen causes and enriching the lives of planners by their commitment.

A dinner later that evening with Veronica, the current and ex. Scottish RTPI Convenors John Esslemont and Roger Kelly, representatives from the government and the Inspectorate and Cliff Hague, led to robust discussion on the role of the RTPI and Scottish planning practice. I came away impressed by the ‘planning village’ in Scotland with enormous strengths and close co-operation between central and local government, and between public and private practice.

Thursday commenced with a visit to Heriot Watt University ably led by Prof. Alan Prior where I met students and lecturers from one of the best UK Planning Schools. The students were a lively and confident bunch whose main concern was the availability of jobs once they completed their courses later in the year. (My article for Planning this month seeks to address the issue of the job market in a recession.) On the positive side I drew attention to new planning jobs in social infrastructure – health, education, care – in utilities, the emerging climate change industry and education/research. However the fall out up and down the planning and development supply chain is having a deleterious effect on the traditional planning jobs in local and central government and its agencies as well as in consultancies. The RTPI is now more flexible regarding APC eligible experience and I believe that a combination of voluntary work such as in Planning Aid and earning enough from non planning work could also see some graduates through and beyond the recession and into chartered membership.

(picture courtesy of Tendai Mutasa)

I was delighted to attend another superb planning awards ceremony, this time addressing the Scottish Planning Awards. This encompassed the Patrick Geddes Awards to students, the Designing Places Awards and the Scottish Quality in Planning Awards. The Scottish National Party Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change, Stewart Stevenson, an ex. banker, made great play of how he was more popular as a Planning Minister than as a banker!! Both he and the Chair of the main judging panel, the Deputy Editor of the Glasgow Herald Joan Burnie demonstrated great faith in the planning system, although I drew attention to the business value of planning to newspaper profits! The overall winner was a delightful rural regeneration scheme on Lerwick Waterfront in the Shetland Isles. It was a very Scottish solution with good eco and community credentials as well as some sympathetic designs, a worthy winner.

My presentation included reference to Scotland punching above its weight in championing planning and I also thanked Jim Mackinnon, the able Chief Planner, for the influence he applies in sustaining planning interests.

Philippa and I came away pleased that we Sassenachs were allowed across the border to address Scottish Planners. We look forward to our next visit.

Presidential visit to Parliament

A busy ten days for me started with the annual ROOM@RTPI lunch at the House of Lords. On the first Monday in March each year, Lord Edmonton (an ex trade unionist) books the House of Lords veranda marquee overlooking the River Thames for ROOM and has done so for the last 10 years. The event originated when ROOM was the National Housing and Town Planning Conference before the National Housing and Town Planning Council (NHTPC) moved under the wing of the RTPI and was renamed ROOM@RTPI. The event includes a tour of Parliament then a lunch addressed by the Lord Edmonton and two other guest speakers. Funds raised from each ticket sold subsidise the London Branch of ROOM each year and the event tends to be attended by contractors and Housing Associations with a few consultants thrown in for good measure.

I have visited the Houses of Parliament a number of times including chairing a couple of events but have never experienced the tour which was fascinating. The history of Black Rod, the opening of Parliament and the Queen’s presentation of her government’s proposals for the following year provides a rich tradition. Both Houses were much narrower than they appear on TV, two swords lengths apart for the front rows. There are not enough seats for all Members to sit at the same time so I guess it can be quite a scrum!

I was invited to the lunch by John Harvey, the “Association’s” (now included in Networks) representative trustee on Executive Board, who wanted the President to talk about the links between housing and planning especially in these troubled times. I was able to refer to the current problems surrounding Section 106 Agreements relaxations on affordable housing to promote development and also talk about the RTPI-CIH Planning for Housing Network, a joint initiative launched last year with the Chartered Institute of Housing. Another important issue I raised is the need to sustain quality and sustainability standards alongside volume in the current environment. I feel strongly about this issue as there are enough bad examples of short term fixes to housing problems over the last 60 years for planners to be cautious about relaxing standards in a poor market! It was an enjoyable event although there is still much to do in improving links between housing and planning professionals.

On Thursday I briefly joined in on a telephone conference organised by the Global Planners Network (GPN), administered by RTPI’s Judith Eversley, which brings together representatives from planning bodies in Australia, Canada, the Commonwealth, USA, France and ourselves, looking to share knowledge of planning best practice internationally. The challenge for the GPN is how to resource and manage an initiative where the wealthier bodies can contribute resources but the less wealthy, in relative terms, have the greatest need both to own the GPN and benefit from it. More to follow as my year progresses.

Later that day I joined a distinguished panel at the EcoBuild Conference and Exhibition to discuss, amongst other things, EcoTowns. The event was chaired by Sarah Montague of Radio 4 fame and consisted of Maxwell Hutchinson (architect), Christian Wolmar (transport commentator), Kelvin McDonald (strategic policy consultant), Toby Lloyd (consultant) and myself. There is understandably a great deal of suspicion regarding EcoTowns especially in the current economic climate. However, the Panel did not entirely reject them but felt that there would almost inevitably be a need for substantial public investment upfront and so they would have to take their chances with other schemes. The truth is that we all felt that EcoTown standards should be applied to all major development and that urban extensions were more likely to deliver sustainable communities in the short term!

Keep track of my blog next week when I will report back on my Presidential visit to Scotland.

Martin.