Town and Country Planning articles from January 2003

Town and Country Planning archives from January 2003

Dr Salveson's solutions. (People & Ideas).
January 1, 2003... Anybody with anything more than a totally superficial understanding of public transport knows that investors were crazy to invest in Railtrack when the government decided to sell off the public interest in the railway system. I remember how, in...

Net effects. (Trading Places).
January 1, 2003... Some two years ago I reviewed the prospects for online shopping. (1) At that time, it was seen as a minority activity, and some commentators expected only a modest rate of growth. In fact, take-up has been much faster than many expected. If a...

A city of villages: David Rudlin and Nick Dodd outline the aims and outcomes of the City of Villages research on the state of London's suburbs. (feature).
January 1, 2003... London's suburbs cover almost two-thirds of its area and are home to more than half its people. As Rasmussen pointed out, London is a unique world city made up of a series of villages--from the leafy arcadia of Surbiton to the urban bustle of...

Towards the suburban regeneration budget: John Allen on the suburbs' diversity, their role within the region and their management. (feature).
January 1, 2003... These comments on the City of Villages study are based around three main areas: the diversity of the suburbs; their role within the London region; and their management in the widest sense--perhaps what one might call their fitness for purpose....

Demythologising the suburbs: the City Of Villages report endorses the crisis developing in the suburbs, but also debunks and demythologises it. (feature).
January 1, 2003... It may seem odd to open a comment on research on suburbs with a reference to Lord Rogers's Urban Task Force, but when its report, Towards an Urban Renaissance, was produced in 1999 it was seen as advocating a particularly urban form of cafe...

Let's call `time' on nuisance: changes to the licensing laws to be introduced in the Licensing Bill ought to have crime and nuisance reduction as primary objectives, and it's not too late for the Bill to be amended accordingly. (feature).
January 1, 2003... The Government's Licensing Bill, which began its passage through Parliament in the House of Lords, brings together under the aegis of local councils the entertainment licensing for which they are responsible at present and the booze licensing...

Second time around--how re-uniting with public health can improve planning: planning and public health were divorced 50 years ago, but now need each other again, says Jon Talbot; and by rediscovering its historical yet vital connection with public health, there is an opportunity to reinvigorate planning. (feature).
January 1, 2003... Members of the TCPA are probably unusual in the planning profession in that most will know that public health and planning have a long and intimate history. Some may not know just how old the relationship is, but all will know that the founding...

New directions in UK strategic planning--from land use plans to spatial development strategies: David Counsell, Graham Haughton, Phil Allmendinger, and Geoff Vigar look at the new arrangements for spatial development strategies in UK planning policy that are set to replace traditional land use plans at strategic level. (feature).
January 1, 2003... With a revised planning system proposed for England for 2004, this is an opportune time to reflect on the evolution of one of the key elements of the new arrangements, that of `integrated spatial strategies'. Under the current proposals, (1)...

The heart of the matter: Peter Jones, David Hillier, and Daphne Comfort look at some of the elements, and particularly the retail elements, in current town and city centre regeneration projects and examine some of the issues raised by these projects. (feature).
January 1, 2003... The last three to four years have witnessed growing interest in the regeneration of town and city centres throughout the UK. This clearly reflects the Labour Government's political commitment to urban regeneration and urban renaissance. Here...

Second homes--a plan of action? Nick Gallent, Alan Mace, and Mark Tewdwr-Jones report the outcomes of a study carried out for the Countryside Agency on second homes in England--including a 16-point plan to help communities affected by strong outside housing demand and concentrations of second homes. (feature).
January 1, 2003... More than a third of England's 250,000 second homes are located in rural districts. They are not evenly distributed throughout the country but cluster in the most attractive villages, often within national parks or in pretty coastal towns. The...

Forget the fragile lands--it's time to hit the city! The demand for and image of ecotourism is almost exclusively rural, but the truth is that the most sustainable forms of tourism are urban; and sustainable urban tourism needs places that are walkable, lively, and diverse. (feature).
January 1, 2003... A popular guidebook on Sri Lanka describes Colombo (the capital) as an `odorous crush that will either instantly repel or draw you in by its charms'. If you're only on a short trip to Sri Lanka, the book goes on to say, `you may wish to pass...

Shedding some light--street lighting and the 24-hour city: Paul Cozens, David Hillier, and Max Graham look at the standards and related planning policy guidance for lighting in city centres and surrounding streets, and make recommendations for street lighting in view of the emergence of the `24-hour city'. (feature).
January 1, 2003... Improving the liveability, sustainability, and vitality of the city has been a major policy objective of the Government in recent years, and it is increasingly a responsibility of planners to ensure that city centre revitalisation can happen as...

Developing public involvement skills: Dory Reeves and Maggie Sheen explain how a TCPA (Scotland) sponsored project introduced third-year undergraduate planning students to practical community-based approaches to planning. (feature).
January 1, 2003... Communities expect planners to create workable plans and shared visions for spaces and places. Planners can only achieve this by engaging with the various sectors of the public to develop plans that have wide support. The Government has...

A new regional distribution of planning schools? Now is the time to strengthen the effectiveness of the planning schools that service the profession by creating a high-quality and well resourced and staffed planning school for each of the regions across the country. (feature).
January 1, 2003... The recent Planning Green Paper and its associated documents have all recognised the need to make planning a more attractive, confident, dynamic, and, above all, positive profession. In turn, the report of the Transport, Local Government and...

Celebrations and self-interest on the path to EU enlargement. (The Euro-Files).
January 1, 2003... In December, the European Union held an historic summit in Copenhagen at which ten states concluded membership negotiations, paving the way for them to enter the EU in 2004. The ten are: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia,...