Changing Views on Town Planning in Great Britain

Abstract

This article takes a critical look at the British planning system and the way it operates today. It has the reputation of being the best in the world, but it is widely misunderstood and misused. The present British government is trying to make planning less effective and far-reaching in the name of the need for national economic revival. Some of the planners on the defensive argue that the need and potential for planning is as great as ever. But there is no cause for complacency as the system has not been working smoothly. A long-running debate about the desirable degree of control over minor development will be quietened when the government passes new legislation on the subject. But the basic issues remain unresolved. Public participation in planning has been fashionable, but many planners are now disappointed by it. In pursuing quantity rather than quality of response from the public, the efforts of planners to involve people in preparing plans have been misdirected. Public inquiries have become an important part of the planning system, but the public is being tricked into thinking that it has a real opportunity to influence decisions when in fact it does not. Gradual changes in the nature of public inquiries are making them widely misunderstood.

Planning, Technology, and Legitimacy: Structured Public Involvement in Integrated Transportation and Land-Use Planning in the United States

“…from the tenor of debate over land-use issues in the popular press, that neither the extent nor the quality of public involvement in planning are satisfactory (Albrechts, 2002;Davies, 2001). These concerns are not new (eg Cowan and Macdonald, 1980) but in spite of all efforts directed at improving it since then:``Meaningful public participation in urban planning remains an elusive goal despite decades of rhetorical commitment by decision-makers'' (Mees and Dodson, 2007, page 35).…”

Divergence in planning for affordable housing: A comparative analysis of England and Portugal

“…In response to the backlog of housing needs intensified by war damage, the Labour government passed several pieces of legislation to foster the provision of social housing for the working classes. Planning policy also supported urban containment through the establishment of a "Green Belt" around the major cities (Cowan, & MacDonald, 1980) and the construction of new towns. Patrick Abercrombie's plan for post-war London, updated by the Greater London Development Plan of 1968, set down the principles of green-belt preservation, peripheral manufacturing and population de-concentration (Fainstein, 1994).…”

Urban Clusters as Growth Foci*

“…The establishment of such new towns around major population centers is often affected by the institutional framework and by land conservation policies. Thus, the “green belt” policy in the U.K. effectively prevents the creation of new communities around London and other major population centers (Cowan and Mac Donald, 1980). Furthermore, public ownership of land (e.g., in countries of the former Soviet Union), or land deficit (Hong Kong, Israel, and South Korea) may render the establishment of new communities around existing population centers rather unfeasible, causing developers to opt for more remote hinterland areas.…”