Centre for Sustainable Planning and Environments (SPE)

By Danni Sinnett and Issy Bray Across Europe there is a vast legacy of contaminated sites from past industrial, commercial and military activity, waste disposal, mineral extraction and other uses. WHO Europe published a report examining the Urban redevelopment of contaminated sites, which summarises the findings from an expert discussion which considered a review of … Continue reading "New report by WHO Europe examines the urban redevelopment of contaminated sites"

by Hannah Hickman…. The news can feel unremittingly challenging and I oscillate between trying to engage with the detail and wanting to ignore it all in the vague hope that next time I look, a future more Covid free reality might be closer on the horizon. Anecdotally, colleagues, friends and family feel similarly. In a … Continue reading "How future planners’ views on Covid-19 provide grounds for optimism"

by Michael Buser….. Kashmir – set in northern region of the Indian subcontinent – encompasses territories administered by India, Pakistan and China.  The region has long been contested and fought over (India and Pakistan have fought three wars over the territory) and is considered to be one of the most militarised areas in the world.  … Continue reading "The Art of Healing: arts-led research to support child wellbeing in Kashmir."

By Danielle Sinnett, Miriam Ricci, Janet Ige, Hannah Hickman, Adam Sheppard and Nick Croft (UWE), Michael Chang (PHE), Julia Thrift and Tim Emery (TCPA) The Getting Research Into Practice 2 (GRIP2) project was commissioned by Public Health (PHE) England and delivered in collaboration with the Town and Country Planning Association. The project had two aims: … Continue reading "Getting public health evidence into planning policy"

By Robin Hambleton…. As well as causing appalling suffering and misery, the COVID-19 pandemic is opening up new possibilities for the future.  An uplifting feature of the way that communities have responded to the COVID-19 calamity has been the spectacular expansion of self-organising community groups working at neighbourhood, or village, level to help the vulnerable … Continue reading "The key to post COVID-19 recovery: community leadership"

By Katie McClymont…. I was privileged to be invited by Rising Arts Agency[1] as a ‘keynote listener’ in their performance of a conversation on the question of ‘who is allowed space to create in Bristol?’ on 4th October 2020. This was part of the Centre of Gravity exhibition in Soapworks/the old Gardiner Haskins[2] building in … Continue reading "‘Creativity sustains us, and so does community’: reflections on listening to art in the city."

By Issy Bray, Danni Sinnett, Rebecca Reece, Rob Hayward and Faith Martin… Mental health of young people is a serious concern, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic which has had a massive impact on the lives of young people. The Wellcome Trust commissioned 30 reviews over Summer 2020 to better understand the ‘active ingredients’ for tackling … Continue reading "New review finds that better access to green spaces has a beneficial impact on anxiety and depression in young people, aged 14 to 24 years."

By Stephen Hall with Steven Griggs and Martin Jones… Austerity, welfare reforms, devolution deals and varieties of localism have hit the poorest authorities the hardest, creating an economy of peaks and troughs across the country. In  Stoke-on-Trent, local authority spending fell by 24 per cent in the eight years following the introduction of austerity in … Continue reading "Levelling up or pushing down? Stoke-on-Trent and the repeated failure of regional economic policy."