approach
I believe that planning is all about people.
First and foremost, planning is about the public: the people who live in the environments that we plan. But it’s also about developers, politicians and planners – the people who want to develop buildings and places, and who decide what does and doesn’t get built. And so often planning gets personal – it ends up being not about what’s being proposed, but about much deeper issues of how different groups of people have felt excluded from decision-making.
Because planning can be so emotive, understanding people is a critical part of planning. Good planning is not just about designing environments: it’s also about being sensitive to people’s behaviour and needs, and helping everyone to negotiate their way through the planning and development process. We should never forget how horrendously complicated it is to the vast majority of people who may only get involved in it once in their lifetime.
A good planner has to understand many things – development, land use, buildings, design, sustainability, partnership working, procedures, legislation, government guidance… the list is endless. But I believe that, even for a planner who has an encyclopaedic knowledge, he or she won’t excel as a planner unless they understand people.
How does this influence how I approach my work?
Firstly, people live, work and play in the environments that we create. Everybody has feelings, knowledge and experience about where they live. Many people want to communicate these things when faced with change in their local community. And there are good reasons for planners, politicians and developers to listen carefully to these views. Listening not only helps to create better places, it also helps to build support for change and resolve conflict.
Secondly, planning is all about making decisions. An ever-increasing number of people are involved in decision-making – developers, planners, architects, engineers, politicians, civil servants, local communities, to name but a few. A good planner must be sensitive to the pressures on each of these groups of people. She or he must understand their aspirations, and be able to communicate effectively with each of these different groups – using whatever means is most appropriate, be it writing, discussing, arguing, presenting or drawing.
I believe that it is critical that planners respect everyone’s views. We should all be open, taking time to share information and discuss issues that matter to people. We also need to remember that details do matter: the human scale is important. However strategic the level of planning that we are working at, we should never lose sight of the fact that people have to live, work and play in the places that we plan.
about me
First of all, my qualifications and professional affiliations. I have an MSc in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Strathclyde, and am a trained mediator and facilitator,
My credentials include:
a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute, and on the committee of its Glasgow & West of Scotland Chapter
a member of the Academy of Urbanism
a Director and former Chairman of Planning Aid for Scotland
a member of the Town and Country Planning Association
a member of the Scottish Mediation Network
a member of the Urban Design Group
Other roles include a visiting lecturer at the Universities of Glasgow (Department of Urban Studies), Strathclyde and Dundee, and an active member of my local Community Council.
Secondly, my career experience. I have worked in planning, regeneration and community engagement for over 15 years, holding full-time positions in the public, private and voluntary sectors. Before establishing nick wright planning in 2004, my career encompassed local government, the voluntary sector, planning consultancy and community housing development in Indonesia.