Digital Approaches to Planning and Placemaking
Professor Peter Madden, OBE, School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University
Despite the proliferation of digital developments in the rest of the economy and society, many of the ways we plan for our spaces remains resolutely retro. We commonly have in-person visits, 2D drawings, counting-with-clipboards, and data locked in unsearchable PDFs.
This is especially true in the world of town and country planning, where post-war policies are still accompanied by post-war processes. The system is too often slow, complex, and difficult to navigate, while our overworked and undervalued planners spend too much of their time on routine tasks, bowing the tyranny of the inbox, instead of creating better places.
At Cardiff University, for the past few years, we’ve been researching and teaching how to digitise the planning system, exploring the possibilities in big data, automation, digital twins, machine learning and AI, and also the ethical and practical pitfalls of using these approaches.
There are fantastic pilots and trials happening across the UK: using data analytics to shape housing allocation in the Greater Manchester, automating routine queries, like ‘do I need planning permission’ in Southwark, supplementing pieces of paper tied to lampposts with Digital Site Notices in Camden, or using 3D models to engage residents in Dacorum Borough Council. These are all part of the UK Government’s desire to take “a radical, digital-first approach to modernise the planning process.”
We think that these digital and data-led approaches have the potential to deliver better outcomes for customers and stakeholders and to free planners to actually plan! We have been educating the next generation of planners in these digital pathways, and we also run sessions, jointly with RTPI Cyrmu, for planners working in the public sector.
Of course, this is not about removing the human element of placemaking and replacing it with digital twins and artificial intelligence. Machines can only do so much. When Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart was asked to describe his test for obscenity in 1964, he responded: "I know it when I see it." The same is true with understanding what makes a good place: we know it when we see it - and not just see it, but feel, smell, hear and experience it. Creating great places requires trained professionals, grounded in context, making a complex set of judgements, and we shouldn’t rely on a software model to decide everything for us.
But we can use these tools, just as humans have always used tools, to do our jobs better. The future is digital, and we need to be harnessing those capabilities for a planning system that is facing an increasing set of challenges. So, let’s make the best use of all that the digital world has to offer.
If you are interested in getting trained in digital planning, why not come join our next CPD course on 10th July, in Cardiff, and learn with some of the leading practitioners in the field.
Image Credits - GeraltPixabay and thepmadden