RTPI Manifesto

by Ruth Barker, 1 Apr 2011

Hello,

Shaping the Future of Scotland: A Planning System to Support Sustainable Change.

This is the title of the new Royal Town Planning Institute in Scotland’s new manifesto for the 2011 Scottish elections, and it makes some strong and significant demands. Key amongst them is a call for a Cabinet Secretary with overall responsibility for planning, as well as a plea for both a Planning Committee within the Scottish Parliament itself; and the formation of a Scottish Planning Forum – a central responsibility for which would be to ensure political commitment for sustainable development, as well as economic growth.

You can read an article on the RTPI website, written by James Butler, here.

And you can download and read the manifesto itself, here.

The RTPI site reports the Convenor of the RTPI in Scotland, David Suttie, as stating that “Planners are passionate people who are totally focused on improving the quality of life for people. Planning ensures that we put the right things in the right places at the right time. It can help achieve economic growth, sustainable development and successful places".

I’d be really interested to know readers’ thoughts on this. Does ‘putting the right things in the right places at the right time’ necessarily stifle creativity, individuality, or distinctiveness? Should environmental sustainability be our greatest priority and, if so, what are we willing to sacrifice in order to achieve it? And where and how can public art practice fit into all this? Can public art be a tool to deliver ‘successful places’, or should subversion always be at the heart of contemporary practice?

Send me your comments or – even better – email me to discuss writing an article for the Reflections area.

Can’t wait to hear from you.

more later,

R