Town and Country Planning articles from December 2002

Town and Country Planning archives from December 2002

Facing up to a housing crisis: `The Right to a Home: Planning for Housing in the New Growth Towns' TCPA Conference, London, 21-22 November 2002.
December 1, 2002... Few people would position themselves against the TCPA belief that `everyone has the right to a home in a decent environment'. Nevertheless, we find ourselves facing a housing crisis of unprecedented scale, with the number of houses needed...

Guide to sustainability appraisal.
December 1, 2002... The latest in publication in the TCPA Tomorrow Series, sponsored by Entec, was launched at the TCPA's `Right to a Home' conference in November. Guide to Sustainability Appraisal, written by Clive Harridge, Adam Mactavish, Isabel McAllister, and...

Affordable housing inquiry.
December 1, 2002... The TCPA's response to the Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Select Committee Re-opened Inquiry into Affordable Housing argued that although the level of funding for social housing has been increased in recent years by the...

Director's diary.
December 1, 2002... So 2002 began with over 100 delegates attending the TCPA's `People Power and Participation' event and ends with a two-day conference `The Right to a Home', with day two focusing on the sustainable delivery of the new homes. Since decent homes,...

The TCPA's unique contribution and a strategy for its future.
December 1, 2002... Sustainable development; ensuring that there are decent homes for people in a good, human-scale environment which combines the best features of town and country; and giving people influence over the decisions that affect them--these are the...

Railways, property rights, and planning. (Off the Fence).
December 1, 2002... When the UK's railway system was sold by the Major Conservative Government, the sale included highly valuable property rights. These may have been included in the valuation at the time--who knows?--but there were three. First was the right...

What can be done with the old town hall? (People & Ideas).
December 1, 2002... It must be almost half a century since Leopold Kohr, author of The Breakdown of Nations, argued that when any human organisation reached the stage of a purpose-built headquarters, we could assume that its creative period was over. More recently...

Objectiveoneland. (Planning World).
December 1, 2002... It suddenly struck me that there are lots of different Europes nowadays, but they don't always show up on maps--at least, the sorts of maps in most people's atlases. There's what the cognoscenti are calling East Central Europe, basically...

A creaking old conception of cities: high-density cities hark back to an old-fashioned idea of what cities were for. (feature).
December 1, 2002... If you were to go back only a decade and look through the shelves of unacted-upon reports by the green movement that decorated many of our homes, you would find that the tone of environmentalists writing about cities was very different from...

Out of sight, out of mind? William Walton looks at the controversy surrounding the concealment of mobile phone antennae, as encouraged by good practice guidance, and considers whether objectors have legitimate grounds for concern or whether the protests are simply the product of hysteria. (feature).
December 1, 2002... On the basis of recent media coverage it appears that the tightening-up of the controls governing the erection of mobile phone installations has done little to allay public concerns over their potential danger to health. Instead, the...

Swindon--a tale of three cities. (Hardy Country).
December 1, 2002... Three times Swindon seems to have got it right. First, it established itself as a small market town at the intersection of local routes and with a ready supply of good building stone; this is now known as the Old Town, and it sits on a hill...

Reinventing energy policy: Dieter Helm looks at the considerable environmental, supply, and institutional challenges facing the Government as it seeks to develop a new energy policy for the UK. (Special feature : energy policy)(Cover Story).
December 1, 2002... After two decades of abundant energy supplies and low fossil-fuel prices, the energy sector faces the prospect of a major investment programme. Twin pressures--import dependency as gas becomes the dominant fuel source; and the environmental...

Pushing the nuclear option--or phasing it out: in June 2002 the Energy Minister suggested that it is up to the antinuclear movement to show how environmental goals could be met without nuclear power--but, says David Elliott, the question mark really lies over whether can they be met with nuclear power. (Special feature : energy policy).
December 1, 2002... `Anyone who suggests that we should not replace nuclear with nuclear must say how our environmental obligations are to be met if nuclear is not replaced with nuclear.' So said Energy Minister Brian Wilson, in a House of Commons debate on energy...

Renewable energy in urban areas: in our search for energy supplies from renewable sources, we are in danger of bypassing the huge energy resource represented by urban generation. (Special feature : energy policy).
December 1, 2002... Today some 90 per cent of the UK population live in urban areas, i.e. in built-up areas of more than 10,000 people. The UK is one of the most urbanised countries in the Western world. It got into that position as a result of the...

The potential for community heating: Mark Hinnells on how community heating can significantly reduce carbon emissions and help public sector organisations and householders save on fuel bills. (Special feature : energy policy).
December 1, 2002... Although community heating is a popular technology in Germany, the Netherlands and Scandinavia, in the UK there is some way to go to realise its full potential. That said, the UK Government already recognises the significance of combined...

NIMBYs and renewable energy: Paul Burall looks at what needs to be done to ease the way for renewable energy projects in the face of NIMBY--`not-in-my-back-yard'--objections. (Special feature : energy policy).
December 1, 2002... `If, in a few years' time, you look out of your window and can't see anything generating electricity then you can assume that we haven't achieved our target.' So said Jo Hefford, Principal of the Sustainable Development Awareness Team at the...

Renewable energy--giving people a stake: Rick Minter outlines the challenges and the potential of the Community Renewables Initiative. (Special feature : energy policy).
December 1, 2002... Renewable energy is part of our future, and the Government sees it as a key part of the energy mix. A new Energy White Paper will no doubt confirm this soon. But many renewable energy proposals are meeting opposition. The Countryside Agency...

The hydrogen saga--why the energy future could begin in Iceland; Roland Clift looks at why the `hydrogen economy'--a scenario in which hydrocarbon-powered vehicles could disappear completely--could be beneficial, and considers the possibilities that might be opened up and some of the problems in the development and implementation of the technology. (Special feature : energy policy).
December 1, 2002... The Government's energy review has laid much emphasis on the possibility of using hydrogen as an energy carrier (not a source--see below) instead of hydrocarbons like gasoline and diesel fuel. `The Hydrogen Economy' is a scenario in which...

Less is more: it is essential that we recognise that our energy-dependent activity must be drastically reduced before we pursue improvements in efficiencies in the use of fuel and transfers to renewable sources. (Special feature : energy policy).
December 1, 2002... There is a growing consensus that the only way to improve the quality of life of populations all over the world is through development that can be categorised as `sustainable'. The goal is seen to be an ever-rising extension of opportunity to...

The West Midlands: planning's relevance. (North--& West--of Watford).
December 1, 2002... `How can we make planning more relevant?' was one of the questions being asked at a recent event arranged by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in Birmingham. The problem is that no-one seems much interested in planning these days, and in...

Boot sales made for walking. (Low-Impact Living).
December 1, 2002... `There will never be a revolution in this country,' Victoria Wood once said, `unless they outlaw car boot sales.' There is unlikely to be a revolution even if they do outlaw them, but her quip resonates because car boot sales are an unusual...

Earth Summit principles go local. (Future Work).
December 1, 2002... The Earth Summit and its rather disappointing outcome have come and gone. After all the media attention, the failure to agree international commitments except in water and sanitation was a depressing outcome. However, the principles that...

Connections: Paul Burall on waste treatment, perceptions of risk, and resource use.
December 1, 2002... Rubbish troubles pile up Waste disposal is in crisis. The figures are startling. Compared with most European countries, British households produce more waste--28 million tonnes a year in England--and dump a higher proportion in the ground,...