The
Convener’s message
A happy new year, and big thanks to Alistair Stark for his
convenership last year. Let’s
do our best to make 2008 a year when the potential of the work we do is
recognised and valued. A year when we strengthen links inside and outside
As
ever, what we’re looking for is more connectivity. Joined up
thinking. Places that ease and please, that don’t frustrate our daily
life and our hopes for a sustainable future. It’s a daunting task, but every
small step will count.
People
have been talking of the need to discriminate –to distinguish between
planning’s role as place for vision, and its regulatory elements. To separate the national from the local. I’m a firm believer
in horses for courses. But let’s be
careful not to divide up the way we think. Our national decisions have to be
informed by an appreciation of the local realities on the ground. Our policy
vision has to be connected to what we’re able to achieve day by day at the hand
of development management. It’s through small steps in the decisions we make
here and now that we can really begin to make a difference.
When I
first got the urge to be a town planner, Ian Nairn was hammering out warnings
about the way we were covering every part of
The Geddes Lecture is jointly presented with the Saltire Society. Their excellent exhibition of the last 70
years of the Saltire Housing Awards is still touring.
In today’s rush for more housebuilding, let’s
remember that we’ve been here before. Surely the big lesson of recent decades
is that provision of new housing is not just about numbers. Good design, quality of environment, and
proper maintenance need to be fundamental to all developments. We can’t afford
to make the same mistakes again.
Roger
Kelly
Roger Kelly
convenes the Royal Town Planning Institute’s Scottish Executive through 2008.
This message
appeared in the March edition of the Scottish Planner
later convener messages April 2008 June 2008 August 2008 October 2008