WATER AND THE CITY IAIN WHITE THE NATURAL AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT SERIES

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1 CMYK As a vital human need water has been absolutely critical to decisions as to where cities originate, how much they grow and the standard of living of the inhabitants. The relationship is complex, however; we need both continual availability and protection from its potential impacts: either too much or too little can have devastating consequences. EAST OF ENGLAND PLANNING / URBAN STUDIES Cover image: Alamy ISBN Yet over recent decades flooding and scarcity episodes have become commonplace in even the most advanced countries. Moreover, future projections of changing climates, burgeoning populations and escalating urbanization has created an intense need for intervention measures that are appropriate to this uncertain context. A gradual recognition of the difficulties in managing these risks has turned the focus towards people and places; key tenets of spatial planning. Indeed, flooding and scarcity events cannot be disassociated from the socio-economic context within which they occur; being directly related to how we live, where we live and how we govern. STUDY PACK Iain White s book initially draws together information on a host of connected subjects from population growth to water scarcity to the relationship between humanity and nature before demonstrating how utilizing notions of risk and resilience could help improve the relationship between the city and its most precious resource. Part of the successful Natural and Built Environment Series, this book combines discussions of risk, water and spatial planning to provide an invaluable text for planning, geography and urban studies students in how to address urban water problems within a rapidly changing world. Iain White is a qualified town planner, a chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute and a Lecturer in Spatial Planning at the University of Manchester. His main research interest lies in exploring issues surrounding water and the built environment. The Natural and Built Environment Series Series Editor: Professor John Glasson Essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students, the books in The Natural and Built Environment Series are introductory and core texts. Each text provides a comprehensive account of a key planning topic. WATER AND THE CITY IAIN WHITE THE NATURAL AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT SERIES BUILDING COMPETENCES FOR SPATIAL PLANNERS METHODS AND TECHNIQUES FOR PERFORMING TASKS WITH EFFICIENCY ANASTASSIOS PERDICOULIS

2 Contents Introductory Note about the study pack Sources reading material/ case study In Focus top-level issues and questions Evidence findings from the case study Challenges methodological queries

3 Introductory Note The study pack contains selected planning material for individual or group practice-based study, following the methodological guidance provided in the book. Its value consists in: Further reading get familiar with a complete planning case Focus questions start with (methodologically) important issues Challenge questions be inquisitive about methodology Further study prepare for more detailed study Competence development such as interpretation, abstraction, organisation, and critical spirit/ questioning

4 In Focus Sequences of interest Task N Technique X Element K (of the plan) Task N then Task N+1 then etc. Top-level questions What are the elements of the plan (e.g. objectives, action)? Which tasks were set to produce these elements? Which techniques were employed? What is described in the planning methodology? What is the sequence of the planning tasks? Which resources (HR, money, time) were used for each task?

5 Sources: Main The East of England Plan (EEP) constitutes the regional spatial strategy (RSS) for the East of England. The revision volume is comprehensive, about a hundred and thirty pages long, featuring policies in key aspects of development such as space, the economy, housing, transport, and natural resources. Government Office for the East of England (2008) East of England Plan: the Revision to the Regional Spatial Strategy for the East of England. London: TSO

6 Sources: Complementary Although comprehensive, the East of England Plan (EEP) takes into account, and builds on the Regional Economic Strategy for the East of England (RES). Thus, ideally, the two documents should be studied together. East of England Development Agency and East of England Regional Assembly (2008) Inventing our future: Collective action for a sustainable economy The regional economic strategy for the East of England

7 Sources: Related The implementation of the EEP and the RES is captured in a special plan, while methodology and assessment are treated in individual volumes. East of England Development Agency and East of England Regional Assembly (2010) East of England Implementation Plan: How the region will deliver the East of England Plan and Regional Economic Strategy SQW Consulting (2009) Consultation Draft of the East of England Implementation Plan (EEIP): How the plan was developed Enviros Consulting, Ltd. (2009) East of England: Habitats Regulations Assessment of the East of England Implementation Plan

8 Sources: Guidance Procedural guidance and specifications regarding the content, preparation and revision of RSSs such as the 2008 EEP is provided in Planning Policy Statement 11 (PPS 11), which was recently substituted by the Policy Statement on Regional Strategies (PSRG). Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (2004) Planning Policy Statement 11: Regional Spatial Strategies. London: TSO regionalspatialstrategies.pdf Communities and Local Government (2010) Policy Statement on Regional Strategies documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/ pdf

9 Evidence (1/2) Elements of the EEP include vision, objectives, and policies for the whole region ( 4 12) and also specific to smaller geographic areas ( 13) Most planning tasks for instance, communicating the vision, objectives and policies, as well as their sequence, are implicit in the EEP, except for implementation, monitoring and review ( 14) Techniques employed in the creation of the EEP are implicit in the document; non-declared techniques for instance, employed in the presentation of baseline information can be identified through the output of the respective tasks

10 Evidence (2/2) With the exception of 14, methodological provisions are scarce in the EEP itself, but the SQW report provides interesting details; external methodological guidance for the EEP comes from PPS 11 (the precursor of PSRG) The structure of the RES reveals an underlying strategic methodology for instance, where are we now? where do we want to be? how do we get there? which is not found in the EEP The Integrated Sustainability Assessment (ISA) covers SEA, Appropriate Assessment, and Equality Impact and Rural/ Urban Proofing Assessments

11 Challenges Here are some challenges that extend the top-level questions: How can we check for compatibility among all the policies of the EEP? idem for the policies of the EEP with those of the RES? Is it clear how policies were conceived? How can we verify their functional link with their origins for instance, the objectives? What is the evidence that the proposed EEP will succeed? Once, applied, how can we know that it has succeeded for instance, through which indicators? Can you relate all the source documents in a single obligations diagram? idem for their content for instance, relate all the policies across all the relevant documents

12 About the Book Complete Title: Building Competences for Spatial Planners: Methods and Techniques for Performing Tasks with Efficiency ISBN: Binding: Paperback Publication year: 2011 Number of pages: 200 Author s website: Publisher s website: