nick wright planning

Archive

Welcome to dedicated archive chronicaling all of the analysis and projects posts published on the site to date. You can easily navigate through the archive chronologically by clicking the below years.

misunderstanding masterplanning

31 Dec 2009

Masterplanning has seen a resurgence in the last decade. Check out any planning or architectural journal or website, and the chances are there will be mention of someone's latest masterplan for somewhere. Even national planning policy has jumped on the bandwagon, with a Scottish Government planning advice note (PAN...

Read More...

procurement + sustainable economic growth

22 Nov 2009

Willie Miller's timely Small Practices and Procurement blog on the Urban Realm website draws attention to the increasingly difficult issue of the impact of procurement rules. To quote Willie:“"Framework Agreements and other aspects of procurement regulations make it increasingly difficult for small practices to get public sector work. At...

Read More...

mediation in planning - and regeneration?

03 Nov 2009

Planning Aid for Scotland organised a seminar on 16 October to explore the increasing interest in using mediation in planning. As one of the co-facilitators at the seminar, in my capacity as a Director of Planning Aid for Scotland, I've summarised the main outcomes of the discussion. This post will...

Read More...

Saving Down Towns | New Cumnock

27 Jun 2009

Prospect magazine scours Scotland for its Carbuncles Awards. The infamous Plook on the Plinth is awarded to the place deemed worst for planning and architecture. Glenrothes was the winner this year. This year, for the the first time, Prospect decided to run the Saving Down Towns conference to explore...

Read More...

place-making and localism

23 Mar 2009

The Scottish Government’s Council of Economic Advisers – who are advising the government on how to support sustainable economic growth in the face of recession – has recently emphasised that better place-making can make a vital contribution to sustainable economic growth. Integrating place-making and sustainable economic growth can contribute...

Read More...

social reporting

17 Feb 2009

With ever more sources of information swilling around - printed journals, e-bulletins, blogs - it's all too easy to get swamped trying to keep abreast of what's happening in your own field, let alone trying to bring in fresh thinking from other disciplines. But it's critically important to try and...

Read More...

Poundbury | a model for elsewhere ?

10 Feb 2009

Poundbury, the Prince of Wales' model urban development on the edge of Dorchester, is as stimulating as it is controversial. Go there with a group, and everybody will comment differently about the place. I was there recently as part of a team led by Willie Miller Urban Design for the...

Read More...

designing streets

01 Feb 2009

It's only a weeks since the Scottish Government announced its investment proposals for how to improve the connections between our towns and cities (the Strategic Transport Projects Review, see my blog article here). Now they've issued draft policy and guidance at the other end of the transport planning spectrum...

Read More...

national planning: Scotland leads the UK pack

02 Jan 2009

The Scottish Government has recently published two ground-breaking documents – the first Strategic Transport Projects Review and the second National Planning Framework (NPF2). Their publication in the same week seems to have been no coincidence, but appears to indicate a move towards greater co-ordination of land-use and transportation planning at...

Read More...