REP Hosts Symposium on the Future of the Planning Profession

After hearing from Victoria Hills, Chief Executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute, on the challenges and opportunities ahead for planning, the morning session focused on lessons learned from recent research. The delegates heard from leading planning researchers including from the ESRC-funded Working in the Public Interest project, research conducted here at Reading on private sector inputs to planning, and insightful international perspectives from Prof. Orly Linovski (University of Manitoba) and Prof. Tuna Tasan-Kok (University of Amsterdam). Engaging presentations in the afternoon session from Finn Williams (Public Practice), Cristina Howick (PBA-Stantec) and Sarah Platts (Planning Officers' Society) lead to a lively debate about the changing nature of the planning practice.

The discussions explored the public perception of planning, how the various planning stakeholders might respond to challenges such as the climate emergency, and how planning schools can foster a new generation of planners with the right skills and dispositions to grasp new opportunities. Plans are being developed to continue reflecting on these issues and to produce formal output from the day in order to keep these important conversations going.