Sue Kidd

Effectiveness of strategic environmental assessment - the significance of learning

Learning, particularly transformative learning, is an established feature of environmental planning, management and assessment. Nevertheless, very often it loses its prominence both as a process and as a goal. This paper explores the extent to which strategic environmental assessment (SEA) can facilitate learning at an organisational and individual level, and ultimately, achieve effectiveness. It is based on the assumption that SEA effectiveness can be achieved if policy, programme and plan-making are oriented towards both the continuous improvement of decision-making and the associated implementation processes. Set within the context of the European SEA Directive, the learning dimension of SEA is explored in Germany, Italy and the UK. This is done through a framework for analysis based on a review of the organisational and individual learning literatures. The research indicates that, owing to their unique contextual and methodological influences, the three countries developed distinct approaches to SEA, with differences in the skills and knowledge needed to improve its learning outcomes. Based on the research findings, the paper identifies what further research is needed to improve SEAs learning outcomes and achieve more effective SEA practice.

Towards a Framework of Integration in Spatial Planning: An Exploration from a Health Perspective

It is now widely accepted that integration is one of the central features of spatial planning, but do we really know why it has attracted this prominence, comprehend what dimensions of integration need to be considered, or appreciate the implications these may have for those engaged in delivering spatial planning in practice? This article aims to address these issues, and to develop a deeper understanding of both the theory and practice of integration by examining the relationship between spatial planning and health. Here, improved integration offers the potential to enhance the physical, social and mental well-being of individuals and communities. Drawing upon integration literature, Part 1 of the article establishes a framework for considering integration in spatial planning. Part 2 then explores how this framework can be used to examine current spatial planning practice with reference to work undertaken as part of the development of the new Regional Spatial Strategy for North West England. This concerned the linkage between regional spatial planning and health. The article concludes by reflecting on the value of the integration framework proposed, how it might be developed, and on some of the key practice challenges presented by the current focus on spatial planning in England and elsewhere.

Introduction to rural planning.

Part 1: Ruruality, Planning and Governance 1. Introduction 2. Rural Governance and Spatial Planning Part 2: The Rural Economy 3. Economic Change 4. The Farming Economy 5. New Economies Part 3: The Needs of Rural Communities 6. Community Change 7. Rural Housing: Demand, Supply, Affordability and the Market 8. Living in the Countryside Part 4: Environmental Change and Planning 9. A Changing Environment 10. A Differentiated Environment Part 5: Governance, Coordination and Integration 11. (Re) Positioning Rural Areas 12. Conclusions: Integrating Agendas, Coordinating Responses

From the Land to Sea and Back Again? Using Terrestrial Planning to Understand the Process of Marine Spatial Planning

Over the last 5–10 years, marine spatial planning (MSP) has emerged as a new management regime for national and international waters and has already attracted a substantial body of multi-disciplinary research on its goals and policy processes. This paper argues that this literature has generally lacked deeper reflexive engagement with the emerging system of governance for our seas that has meant that many of MSPs core concepts, assumptions and institutional arrangements have not been subject rigorous intellectual debate. In an attempt to initiate such an approach, this article explores the relationship between MSP and its land-based cousin, terrestrial spatial planning (TSP). While it is recognized that there are inherent limitations to a comparison of these two systems, it is argued that the tradition of social science debate over the purpose and processes of TSP can be used as a useful stimulus for a more rigorous reflection of such issues as they relate to MSP. The article therefore explores some of the parallels between MSP and TSP and then discusses some of the key intellectual traditions that have shaped TSP and the implications these may have for future marine planning practice. The article concludes with a number of potentially useful new avenues that may form the basis of a critical research agenda for MSP.

Towards Sustainability: Is Integrated Appraisal a Step in the Right Direction?

The authors examine the role of integrated appraisal as a tool for promoting sustainable development and good governance, and the potential tensions that may exist between these two objectives. Drawing upon experience in the United Kingdom, it is argued that an undue emphasis on governance issues may compromise the rigour of integrated-appraisal methodologies and result in a loss of focus upon sustainability concerns, particularly those related to environmental matters. This framework of ideas is explored further with reference to the development of an integrated Appraisal Toolkit for the North West region of England. Ways in which integrated appraisal can retain its place within the suite of environmental assessment tools as a way of supporting more sustainable patterns of development, and at the same time contributing to good governance, are discussed.

Planning Sustainable Development: Principles and Implementation

private sector development proposals and the actions of public sector planners are increasingly being justified in its name. In responding to &dquo;Planning as Sustainable Development&dquo; by Geoffrey McDonald there are three key points with which we wish to take issue. First, despite some acknowledgement of the breadth of concerns encompassed by sustainable development, the paper adopts a very narrow interpretation of the concept which focuses on the natural environment. Second, the paper promotes, rather uncritically, the development of new environmental planning and management techniques. Third, it significantly underplays the enormous amount of activity at the local level, particularly in relation to Agenda 21, which is stimulating development of new social interpretations of sustainable development.

Enhancing environmental appraisal effectiveness: Towards an understanding of internal context conditions in organisational learning

Part of a wider comparative European research project on developing the learning potential of appraisal in spatial planning in the UK, Germany and Italy, this paper aims to explore whether context conditions can facilitate internal organisational reforms and changes, trigger appraisal effectiveness, and facilitate organisational learning. The discussion comprises a synthesis of the environmental appraisal and organisational learning literatures and illustrates the relevance and applicability of this body of work for wider planning practice through an examination of the Comune of Ravenna, Italy. The insights from the case study suggest that sensitivity to internal context conditions is critical to understanding the capacity for organisations to learn, and illustrates how the potential for learning might exist if an organisation is open to nurturing it.

Marine Spatial Planning: A New Frontier?

Marine spatial planning is taking on greater international significance as a response to increased perceived threats to the marine environment and the need for more systematic maritime governance. It also expands the horizons of spatial planning and leads to calls for interdisciplinary research to support its development. This special issue brings together papers focusing on the need for a more active engagement of natural and social science perspectives in the formation of spatial strategies concerned with the future well-being of the seas and oceans.

Sustainable Development and Institutional Design: The Example of the Mersey Basin Campaign

The Mersey Basin Campaign was established in 1985 in the North West of England to address continuing problems of water quality and associated landward dereliction of the River Mersey and its tributaries. The Campaigns premise that water quality should be improved both for its own sake and as a stimulus to regeneration has proved to be well founded and has subsequently been extended to embrace community action to help nurture watercourse improvement and care. The Campaign can now be seen as a model for engaging co-ordinated environmental action through a partnership approach. This paper explores the nature of the Mersey Basin Campaign as an example of the new structures which are being developed in order to help deliver the new environmentalpolicy agenda. It is argued that the Campaign stands as a model for what will become an increasing need to develop focused environmental planning and management at the sub-regional and regional scales.

Reconceptualising territoriality and spatial planning: insights from the sea

The concept of territoriality and its relationship to the focus and substance of spatial planning is the subject of much interest at the present time and this paper seeks to contribute to the debate by stepping into the sea. The first part of the paper establishes a framework for considering the spatial planning implications of changing conceptions of territoriality, outlining key sources of territorial innovation and their implications in terms of the development of new units and styles of governance, new challenges for planning practice, and the potential for feedback informing the development of planning theory. The application of the framework is then illustrated in the second part of the paper with reference to the emerging field of maritime spatial planning and in particular to the pioneering work that is being undertaken in Europe. This work is testing established notions of territoriality by highlighting the strong and growing connections between the land and the sea. Here some of the key implications for future spatial planning practice are identified. These indicate that there is a growing recognition of the need for innovation in the territorial units of governance in maritime regions and in the themes, processes and methods of spatial planning in these areas. The paper concludes with some observations on the implications of these findings for the theory of spatial planning.