Videos of event, ‘Inclusive Thinking, Policy and Practice in Planning and Heritage for Communities’

Friday 23 October 2020

On Thursday 22 October, we hosted a half day Conference to think about inclusivity and community within policy and practice, with a focus on heritage and planning, as part of our Follow-on-Funding dedicated to Opening New Pathways to Impact across Heritage Research, Policy and Practice.

The event is timely as it coincides with the UK Government’s launch of the Planning White Paper consultation, Planning for the future, which aims to ‘fix’ the ‘broken’ planning system through a series of 24 proposals outlined in the document. The White Paper follows other relevant reports that came out earlier this year, such as the ‘Living with beauty‘ report of the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission, and two reports – Rethinking the Planning System for the 21st Century and Planning Anew‘ – published by Policy Exchange, also relevant for many of the proposals outlined.

The day contributed to the impressive range of discussion and debate seen over the past months which have focused on key concepts underpinned in the planning reform, which include: planning for development, planning for beautiful and sustainable places, and planning for infrastructure and connected places, through three categories identified to simplify planning (Growth, Renewal and Protected Areas). Communities are at the core of this, and heritage studies is well placed to think about the current shift towards politics of rootedness and belongingness, as well as enabling placemaking and inclusivity.

The areas we focused on specifically were:

  • How does the understanding, design and governance of placemaking affect wellbeing and social sustainability?
  • What does it mean to put resources into the hands of communities, and how can understanding nature, culture or heritage studies provide people with opportunities for choice and control?
  •  What can heritage research and practice offer this new politics of identity, rootedness and belongingness.

The full programme can be found here.

Confirmed speakers included:

Hana Morel, UCL

Rachel Fisher, defra

Nikoleta Jones, Cambridge University

Lucy Natarajan, The Bartlett

Helen Fadipe, FPP Associates Ltd

Olafiyin Taiwo, Life Brooks International

David Bryan, XTend 

Claire Smith, University of York

Helen Graham, University of Leeds

Phil Bixby, My Future York

Stephanie Evans, National Trust

Yves Blais, Creative Land Trust

Rob Lennox, CIfA

Stephanie Wray, Nature Positive and RSK Wilding

1. Introduction, Hana Morel (UCL) 2. The Role of Land Use in Thinking about Placemaking, Wellbeing and Community Empowerment, Rachel Fisher (Defra) 3. Land Use Management within Protected Areas: the Challenge of Meeting Social Sustainability Targets, Nikoleta Jones (Cambridge University) 4. Panel, Repairing the Social Fabric, Lucy Natarajan (Bartlett), Helen Fadipe (FPP Associates Ltd), David Bryan (XTend UK), Claire Smith (University of York) 5. Heritage, Planning and the Deliberative Systems Approach to Local Democracy, Helen Graham (University of Leeds) & Phil Bixby (My Future York) 6. Opportunities & Challenges Outlined in the PWP for the Heritage Sector, Stephanie Evans (National Trust), Yves Blais (Creative Land Trust), Rob Lennox (CIfA), Stephanie Wray (Nature Positive)

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