Log in
The research has impacted for over a decade via contributions to changes in planning legislation, policy, guidance and practice in both Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland. Now as the framework for local government reform is being developed in NI, planning is undergoing structural change to enable powers to be devolved to the new councils. In an advisory capacity to the Minister for the Environment on the Ministerial Planning Advisory Forum and also to the Northern Ireland Assembly, specific contributions have been made to the development of the Planning Act (NI) 2011 and a new single planning policy statement which will inform planning decision making. Impact is also manifested in the preparation of government guidance for plan-making in the Republic of Ireland. The research impacts upon all aspects of urban and rural planning decision making in the jurisdiction of NI (population 1.8 million) and also on design based urban and rural planning decision making in the Republic of Ireland (population 4.58 million).
This case study demonstrates how extensive University of Manchester (UoM) research over nearly two decades has led to a step change in policy monitoring practices, through the development of innovative indicator methodologies that have strong analytical, learning and spatial emphases. The key impact was the direct translation of a UoM research report into the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's (ODPM) official spatial planning monitoring guidance, with all 394 English local planning authorities required to comply with evidence-based plan-making. This work continues to shape the policy debates and practices of the UK Coalition Government, with impact extending internationally, influencing policy, debate and practice within: the EC, the UN, the World Bank, Australia and China (Shantou).
Research conducted by Gallent, Morphet et al has revealed a lack of understanding among planners, local authorities and public sector infrastructure providers about the key shift in spatial planning in England since 2004 towards integrated deliverability. This, plus further UCL research work suggesting appropriate means to redress this lack of understanding, led to the development of Infrastructure Delivery Planning (IDP) which has, in turn, had significant impacts on government policy and legislation for local plans. Since 2008, all 346 English local authorities have used IDP, a change that has supported the more effective and sustainable use of land, buildings and facilities, and given greater confidence to communities by demonstrating committed local investment.
Research undertaken at LSE since 1995 has changed the terms of debate about land use planning and contributed to substantive changes in government policy. Planning was previously thought of as purely an environmental/design issue, but the underpinning research has demonstrated substantial economic effects on housing supply and affordability, housing market volatility, and on the productivity of economic users of space: it has shown that England's planning policies add up to 35% to housing costs, act as a tax equivalent of up to 800% on the cost of office space and since 1996 have reduced the productivity of a representative English supermarket by 32%. The work had significant influence on the two Barker Reviews and subsequent housing policy changes introduced by the Blair and Brown Labour governments. More recently it has influenced Coalition thinking and policy on planning's wider economic impacts.
Research at Newcastle has made a significant contribution to the development of strategic and local planning practice in the UK and globally. It has also shaped concepts and expectations of spatial planning and place governance. Based on a concerted approach to the theorisation, analysis and transfer of ideas through teaching, research and engagement with practice, the role of collaborative planning as a key element of urban governance, to bring different interests and communities together, continues to influence debates about the nature of development processes and their future role in place-shaping.
The importance of this impact relates to how it changed policy and practice in regard to spatial division in Northern Ireland's contested society by linking planning, regeneration and reconciliation. Beneficiaries include: north Belfast communities (33,000 population) which have a new planning framework and knowledge to improve their regeneration; a network of reconciliation agencies, which has endorsed a policy manifesto based on the research; the main government department concerned with planning and development which has embedded reconciliation into its legislative and core policy framework, and Belfast City Council, which has been guided about how best they can tie their `good relations' strategy to their emerging powers around planning and regeneration.
A series of research projects, between 1994 and 2013, developed innovative land use and transport models to provide an evidence base for urban decision-making. They have impacted the planning of cities around the world, in particular the industrial declining city of Bilbao, Spain, now heralded as an exemplar of renewal; the planning of the developing world city of Santiago, Chile, now an exemplar of modernity; and the expansion of the knowledge-based city of Cambridge, UK, now an exemplar of sustainability. This research continues to contribute to planning policies around the world.
The research highlighted here has had a major impact on the design of community led planning (CLP) and neighbourhood planning in England since 2006; initially within the voluntary and community sector and subsequently on policymakers' thinking. This has shaped the trajectory of policy development nationally since 2010 and influenced the way in which local authorities and other intermediary organizations (such as the Rural Community Action Network (RCAN) / Action in Communities in Rural England (ACRE) / Rural Community Councils (RCCs) in England) have approached community-led planning (CLP) and subsequently Neighbourhood Planning (NP). The work has had a significant impact on the NP approach and therefore on the public through the 2011 Localism Act. This legislation led to the `Supporting Communities in Neighbourhood Planning' (SCNP) programme, funded by Communities and Local Government (CLG) since 2011 to a value of circa £20m overall (which includes a 2013-15 tranche of £9.5 Million). The case study lead researcher (Parker) is now co-ordinating a large part of this programme while on 80% secondment at the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI)/Planning Aid England (PAE) (2012-2014).
This case study is built upon the successful fusion of Spatial Planning with the Ecosystem Approach, translating complex theory into operational outputs for public and stakeholder engagement, which improve policy processes and outcomes across built and natural environments and fringe interfaces. `RUFopoly' and `EATME tree' are co-produced outputs, maximising engagement in learning spaces within game and web-portal formats respectively. For example, the Welsh Government has used both tools to design emerging policy frameworks (testimonial1). The novel research model employed builds research teams that integrate academic, policy and practice participants within a collective journey of (re)-discovery maximising reflective practice and social learning.
University of Glasgow research into public sector governance has influenced planning and investment in major transport and infrastructure projects. Transport Scotland's Strategic Transport Projects Review was the first nationwide, multi-modal, evidence based review of Scotland's transport system; as a member of the Board, Professor Iain Docherty contributed to its recommendations, adopted by the Scottish Government in December 2008. His research also shaped the Commission for Integrated Transport's negotiations with the Westminster Government on the White Paper which underpinned the Planning Bill 2008 and subsequent Planning Act 2009; informed the Cabinet Office's 2009 Urban Transport strategy and recommendations; and influenced 2012 investment planning discussions by Edinburgh City Council.