2022 finalists

This research draws on key informant interviews and case studies in Bradford, Harrow, Lambeth & Lewisham to explore the role that the English planning system can play in reducing racial inequalities in housing. The research concludes that the planning system has historically tended to perpetuate such inequality, but crucially, that it also has untapped potential to address it. To reach this potential, planners need to be equipped with the knowledge and confidence to move away from a focus on formal equality of treatment and be willing to actively promote equality agendas where necessary to ensure equal outcomes.

With increasing urban densification and suburbanization, Durkheim’s idea of urban anomie has become more relevant. However, little is known of the links between density, and loneliness and social isolation. We examined UK-wide associations of residential density with loneliness and social isolation, as the most detailed test of Durkheim’s urban anomie. We found each 1,000 unit/km2 increment in residential density within 1-Km was associated with 2.8% and 11.4% higher odds of loneliness and social isolation respectively. Our results highlight the value of optimizing housing density to create livable and healthy cities through synergy between national-level loneliness strategies and urban planning policies.

This research assessed the use and values of ride-hailing in outlying new areas under transit-oriented development (TOD). By unpacking the differences in ride-hailing behaviors between inner city and newly developed areas, we applied spatial and temporal models to investigate the determinants of ride-hailing usage in TOD-oriented new areas. We found that the preference for ride-hailing use is associated with differentiation of socio-economic status and built environment, which are nested in the context of urbanization. Overall, ride-hailing is expected to mitigate the mobility gap and promote equal accessibility in newly developed areas from two aspects, females travel and night-time travel.

Taking Stock explores how the pipeline of sites for housing development compares with what might be needed to meet the Government’s ambitions to deliver 300,000 net additional homes per year, taking into account how delivery varies across different parts of England. The report concludes that many parts of the country – particularly those with greatest problems of affordability – have a shortage of planning permissions to meet the Government’s estimates of housing need.

Levelling Up - The Logic of Logistics. A report demonstrating the wider economic, social, and environmental benefits of the industrial & logistics sector. In a post Brexit world, it is important the UK continues to attract inward investment, is able to pay higher wages in response to inflation and tax receipts are reinvested in essential infrastructure to support a sustainable future. A key challenge to this is the UK’s labor productivity which trails much of Europe. To bridge this gap, we need to facilitate growth in the most productive and innovative sectors. Industrial and logistics is one such sector.

PAS, the LGA and David Lock Associates have developed a Toolkit designed to assist local planning authorities and their partners in helping to signpost and overcome key issues associated with planning for and delivering strategic scale development. The Toolkit has been compiled using evidence from a wide variety of sites, case studies and knowledge from the authors’ collective experience in delivering such sites.

Tracking Progress provides a ‘deep dive’ into five local authority case studies to examine what really happens to planning permissions at the local level once they are granted, and what can be expected to be seen in terms of delivery five years on.

This paper explores the crisis in our traditional shopping streets driven by the rapid move to shopping online. Through advancing a new ‘sun model’ of shopping choices and associated ‘place attraction’ paradigm, it identifies the place-based intervention factors that can help to guarantee a future for traditional shopping streets.

For decades local planning authorities in England have been reluctant to refuse poorly designed residential and other developments on design grounds. Based on an analysis of national appeals data, Appealing Design examines this reluctance, furnishing authorities with the evidence they need to confidently pursue their design ambitions in the future.

This study (supported by a small grant of the Property Research Trust) comparatively analysed the regulations put in place by the governments of 12 large European cities to control short-term rentals, which have rapidly grown due to digital platforms. It shows that the emerging local regulations take multiple forms and degrees of stringency, ranging from relative laissez-faire to strict control. All city governments face notable difficulties in enforcing those regulations, mainly due to the reluctance of corporate platforms to release precise data on individual STR. Access to market-generated data has become key for planning policy and enforcement in this field.

Digital Participatory Planning outlines developments in the field of digital planning and designs and trials a range of technologies, from the use of apps and digital gaming through to social media, to examine how accessible and effective these new methods are. It assesses whether digital technology offers an opportunity for the public to engage with urban change, to enhance public understanding and the quality of citizen participation, and to improve the proactive possibilities of urban planning more generally.

The provision of greenspace of the right type, amount and in the right place to meet the needs of all people is one of the key challenges facing planning systems globally. This research identifies and assesses the planning and non-planning influencing factors on urban greenspace provision in a Scottish context, including strategic planning, open space standards, community engagement, staffing, organisational structure and financial resource. These inter-relate and recommendations are offered on how to improve provision. Crucially an understanding of the value of greenspace and commitment of financial resource by government and developers is critical to the implementation of the recommendations.

Policy-makers are increasingly seeking new solutions to address the super-wicked problem of climate change, one of which is an effective policy for zero-carbon homes. This research explores the challenges associated with effective policy-making for zero-carbon homes. Whilst policy innovation and entrepreneurship are evident in zero-carbon policy-making, there is also evidence of policy myopia. To overcome such myopia, continued innovation and entrepreneurship is needed across scales of governance. Critically, increased direction from national government is necessary to embed zero-carbon homes policy as a solution to address climate change as a super-wicked problem.

The research examined the current and potential contribution of the economic policies within local plans in four urban coastal local planning authority areas, with a focus on critically evaluating the implementation of adopted planning policy against a range of key indicators and national level objectives and delivery mechanisms. The findings radically challenge much of what is believed to be true about economic planning policy, planning for coastal towns and how “levelling up” may be achieved.

The repowering of onshore wind farms in the UK provides an opportunity to increase onshore wind installed capacity by up to 4GW by 2040. It also provides an opportunity to improve community benefits associated with the wind farm. Of focus in this research is the potential for repowering to facilitate greater levels of community shareholding in commercial onshore wind farms. This research sought to understand if developers and community energy stakeholders are interested in community co-ownership arrangements implemented at the moment of repowering and if so, what factors are motivating interest and which model of community co-ownership is preferred

This research explores the extent to which planning practice considers and implements theories, on how the built environment can be shaped to be conducive to mental health. The research utilised the GAPS (Green, Active, Pro-Social and Safe Places) framework to assess planning policy (at national and local levels) and to discuss first hand with planning professionals to what extent the delivery of mentally healthy places is considered in planning practice today. This research hopes to add value to the emerging body of research exploring how the planning profession can shape mentally healthy built environments.