John T. Jackson

Neo-liberal or Third Way? What Planners from Glasgow, Melbourne and Toronto Say

This article focuses on the work and views of planners. Taking a neo-liberal position and in the context of inter-city competition, one might expect the current metropolitan plans for Glasgow, Melbourne and Toronto would pay scant attention to the people and places marginal to the ‘new economy’. Proponents of ‘third-way’ thinking, however, argue plans can be designed to be both competitive and socially inclusive. So what do the planners who drafted the plans say?

Beyond The Fringe: Social and Physical Planning Problems in Shires Adjacent to Melbourne's Metropolitan Statistical Division

Some of the fastest-growing local government areas in Melbourne (and Australia) are located at the edge of the metropolitan statistical division. This paper seeks to discover what such population growth means in physical and social planning terms and how local governments are coping with the influx of new households, many of which work in the metropolitan area. Suggestions are made as to what urban policy and planning responses are appropriate.

“They have good intentions”. Young People's Experiences of Living in Melbourne's Peri-Urban Areas

Based on the experiences of young people growing up in Melbournes peri-urban areas, this article argues that while their sense of well-being is shaped in part by their built environment, a physically deterministic policy approach is an insufficient response to the projected population growth in these areas. Policy makers should investigate the concept of social cohesion as a superior basis for their thinking.

The Victoria planning provisions: Is there space for place?

Abstract Drawing from Healeys notion of collaborative planning, it is postulated that under certain conditions there is a degree of freedom within the newly introduced Victoria Planning Provisions for place making at the local government level. Four case studies are described and discussed.

Planning for social inclusion? what planners from Glasgow, Melbourne and Toronto say

Drawing on interviews with planners implementing metropolitan plans for Glasgow, Melbourne and Toronto in 2005 and 2006, this article examines the extent to which planners can effectively plan for social inclusion. It assesses their views in the context of ‘actual existing neo-liberalism’, concluding that while some believe in its importance, planning for social inclusion is not often realized in practice. Why this might be and how it could be accomplished is then considered.

How best to assess students' learning in work placements: moving beyond current practice

Abstract This paper addresses the question: how should work undertaken by undergraduate planning students in formal work placements be academically assessed? For example, should assessment focus on the ability to perform typical professional workplace tasks, the students capacity to exercise judgement in the professional workplace, or the ability to reflect critically on the experience of practice? Urban and regional planning is a professional activity where the education of planners often, but not always, involves a work placement of some kind. We investigate current practices and the key stakeholders’ perspectives on assessment and assessment standards in work-based planning education in Australia. Our findings help inform some of these debates and our discussions point to some possible resolution of the dilemmas posed. We argue that there is a need to extend beyond the dominant forms of assessment that are currently used in work-placement-based planning education in Australia if we are to improve on current assessment practices and to reconcile tensions between the requirements and perception of the key stakeholders involved: namely the planning academics, students and supervising practitioners.

Centrality on the fringe: A reassessment of planning orthodoxy

Based on responses from households living in Melbournes outermost northwestern suburbs, this paper argues that urban policy makers and planners should reflect more carefully on how they think about urban fringe development. Respondents did not think of themselves as been pushed to the fringe but rather they saw themselves as being centrally located in terms of the child‐centred lifestyle they wished to pursue.

Major projects in the public interest

State governments seem pre-occupied with promoting large developments in their capital cities as exemplified by Sydneys Darling Harbour Development, Perths Burswood Island Casino, the Expo 88 Project in South Brisbane, the Adelaide Railway Station Complex and the Victoria Project in Melbourne.

Neoliberalism and urban planning in Toronto: how seasoned planners adjust to their changing circumstances

ABSTRACT This paper examines what 14 senior urban planners working for various planning agencies across metropolitan Toronto said about their work, interpreted through the lens of neoliberalism. Some still draw on the planning values of the old City of Toronto from the 1970s and 1980s, and most, in various ways, seek to push the bounds of contemporary practice. Consideration is given to the possibilities of emergent planning practices beyond the current neoliberal ascendancy in public life.

How Best to Assess Students Taking Work Placements? An Empirical Investigation from Australian Urban and Regional Planning.

Abstract Work placements (including internships) are common in urban and regional planning education but the relevant literature has largely overlooked their assessment and academic standards. To address this gap, the paper presents a study of this topic undertaken within the Australian context. The research involved systematically scoping the status of work placements in planning education in Australia, and exploring the perspectives of participating educators, practitioners and students on appropriate assessment methods and academic standards. We found significant and problematic divergence in these three key stakeholders’ perspectives. The implications of these findings are discussed in a national and international context. The consequent proposition is an approach to assessment and standards that promotes a shared understanding across these key stakeholders.