12 June 2020 < Back CAP STATEMENT - Planning in the Commonwealth Post-Covid-19 12 June 2020 The Commonwealth Association of Planners exists to meet the challenges of urbanisation and the sustainable development of human settlements throughout the 53 nations of the Commonwealth. Rapid urbanisation continues throughout the globe – in the Commonwealth it is estimated that 65,000 people a day (23,750,000 a year) are moving to cities. Over half this urban growth is in slums with no planning and little by way of sanitation and infrastructure. Planning for health was a major issue before the arrival of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. The dramatic impacts of the virus have affected all nations, rich or poor, Global North or Global South, and are likely to have a lasting effect on the way that governments, regions and local authorities plan for housing, jobs and services into the future. In efforts to limit the spread of the virus, billions of people have been confined to their homes for extended periods; businesses have closed; public transport – where it exists - has been suspended or severely curtailed; and food supplies have become strained through panic buying and disruption to supply chains. Governments generally are now looking to move out of ‘lockdowns’ into a period of recovery, bringing with it dangers and new opportunities. Aside from the evident dangers of fresh outbreaks of Covid-19 infection, there are real and long-term dangers in re-igniting global warming, which remains a serious threat to our planet, to biodiversity and to mankind. Governments may be tempted to reach for ‘off-the-shelf” infrastructure and development projects to boost economic recovery. The Commonwealth Association of Planners is concerned that many of these may hark back to carbon-intensive lifestyles while short-term exhortations to avoid the use of public transport (such as that issued by the UK Prime Minister on 10th May), alongside arguments to allow greater urban sprawl in low density developments, risk further instilling unsustainable ways of living and developments. In current jargon, projects should be “shovel worthy” rather than just “shovel ready”. The pandemic is still a recent and on-going event and there is much to learn from national and international experience as the world looks to address its adverse impacts but also to prolong the benefits that have flowed from efforts to counter the infection. There is a critical role in this for the collection and sharing of data to aid systematic understanding of the virus, its impacts and the efficacy of measures taken to address these – including those relating to the built environment. Amidst this, there are real opportunities in the present situation for planners to work in collaboration with the other built environment professions to remodel our cities and towns to create better-planned developments that contribute to climate action, to improved homes and to healthier lifestyles – and to leave us better prepared to face future pandemics. The International Energy Agency has forecast the CO2 impact of the Coivd-19 pandemic, suggesting that emissions could fall by 8% in 2020. This reduction compares well with the reduction of 7.6% each year required in order to limit global temperature rise to within 1.5 degrees of pre-industrial temperatures. But if we are to tackle global warming effectively it is essential that we maintain this level of reduction, rather than return to ‘business as usual’. In the pandemic, people have been confined to their homes for long periods, placing serious physical and mental health pressures on those who live in small, overcrowded homes. Public parks and open spaces in many cities have become vital outlets for recreation and access to exercise but have frequently become overcrowded, not allowing adequate space for social distancing. Large numbers of people and school children have been forced to work from home, reliant on sometimes variable electricity supplies and strained broadband networks for links to family, jobs, clients, shopping and essential services. On the other hand, communities have worked together with greater common purpose. Traffic reductions have contributed to quieter living environments and cleaner air quality in our cities. People have rediscovered the hidden joys in conversation, in mutual support, in birdsong – and in enhanced regard and respect for our public services, especially health and care workers. Working with local communities, planners and other built environment professions have the chance to learn from and perpetuate these positive experiences – provided the right investment is made in the resources made available to these professions. Throughout the Commonwealth there is a great – and in some places, acute – shortage of planners and other built environment professions. Accordingly, there is a huge opportunity for governments (both central and local), communities and private sector organisations to grasp the opportunities offered by our experience in the current pandemic to: Improve housing standards, both in setting good, minimum standards of accommodation and providing good sanitation, ventilation and sustained power supplies that allows space and services for families who must remain indoors for extended periods; Meet the urgent need for enhanced, stable broadband connectivity that allows many members of the same family good access from home to work, schooling, shopping and support services; Achieve well planned neighbourhoods with locally accessible shops and services and adequate provision of parks and open spaces to allow for community cohesion and much needed exercise; Focus transport investment into active modes of travel – walking and cycling – that allow people to move between homes, jobs, shops, schools and services with reduced reliance on private vehicles and (in times of pandemic) public transport; Remodel our city and town centres to enable greater levels of housing in the centres, where there is a reduced need for space for retail and commercial premises, ensuring that open space and essential services are available to the new as well as existing residents. Good governance is critical to being able to deliver good planning and remains a vital part of responding to the pandemic within the continuing context of rapid urbanisation and the need to implement UN Habitat’s New Urban Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. The Commonwealth has the potential to act as an international convenor and facilitator in spreading knowledge, experience and good practice across the globe in responding to the pandemic, achieving a beneficial, green recovery and avoiding the temptation to revert back to ‘business as usual. Now is the time for governments to strengthen planning powers and the resources available for good planning. >>> Download Statement 1/0

By Cliff Hague < Back Planning, Sustainable Urbanisation, and The Commonwealth: Read the Book on CAP's Achievements and Why It Matters 09 June 2023 By Cliff Hague A new book published by Routledge is both a celebration of what CAP has achieved during its first 50 years and a call to urgent action in the face of the local, national and global crises of climate, biodiversity and inequality. “If you want to know why CAP matters for planners everywhere, read this book,” CAP President Eleanor Mohammed said. “No sustainable development without sustainable urbanisation. No sustainable urbanisation without effective planning.” This message from the Commonwealth Association of Planners (CAP) is explained and reinforced in a book that explores the development of planning across the Commonwealth since CAP held its inaugural conference in New Delhi in 1973. In Planning, Sustainable Urbanisation and the Commonwealth: The Commonwealth Association of Planners, Past, Present and Future, authors from five continents provide unique and passionate insights into that journey. Members of the planning organisations that are CAP institutional members can purchase copies at a 30% discount for a limited time (details below). As well as providing first-hand accounts of their efforts to get planning recognised by governments, other professions and the public, the book looks ahead. A series of thought-provoking chapters challenge planners to rethink their work and reassert their role in a Commonwealth where there will be over a billion more people in urban areas by 2050. The book is both a celebration of what CAP has achieved during its first 50 years and a call to urgent action in the face of the local, national and global crises of climate, biodiversity and inequality. It spans the years from colonial planning systems to smart cities, with milestones such as the Brundtland Report, the UN Habitat summits and the New Urban Agenda along the way. This informative historical sweep is complemented by examples of plans and planning practices, lessons learned and outstanding initiatives. It takes in colonial garden cities, the vibrant streets of megacities like Lagos, and the complexities of land tenure systems in Oceania, the regeneration of old industrial cities, community-based rural development, tsunamis, embedding the values of Indigenous people into planning, and more. There are chapters on the work of CAP’s Women in Planning Network, young planners (60% of Commonwealth citizens are under 30) and on planning education. The particular challenges of small island states also feature, as there are 25 of them in the Commonwealth. What emerges is a picture of planning and the Commonwealth at a critical juncture. The immense challenges that today confront the planet need action at local and regional level. Planning is integral to that response, as the New Urban Agenda argues. The Commonwealth still bears scars of colonialism, but also offers exceptional opportunities for cooperation across places that are at the global epicentre of rapid urban change. Time is short and adaptation will at times be painful, but that latent potential needs to be grasped now by governments and by planners themselves in the way they use their own knowledge and skills. The book contains endorsements from the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, the Director-General of the Commonwealth Foundation, and the Executive-Director of UN-Habitat, along with planning academics from Jamaica, India, Bangladesh and South Africa. It has been sponsored by three major consultancies: BECA, Turley and Atkins. “If you want to know why CAP matters for planners everywhere, read this book,” CAP President Eleanor Mohammed said. “This book tells an important story of how CAP has been able to present a persuasive case for planning across and beyond the Commonwealth. It shows how unpaid volunteers have worked tirelessly and effectively through CAP, and in partnership with others, to get the vital issue of sustainable urbanisation on the agendas of the Commonwealth Heads of Government, the G7 and the UN.” Planning, Sustainable Urbanisation and the Commonwealth: The Commonwealth Association of Planners, Past, Present and Future , edited by Cliff Hague, Clive Harridge, Bryce Julyan, Ruiz Nik and Ian Tant, can be purchased from www.routledge.com/9781032414027 . Exclusive code for members of CAP member institutes Quote code PSUC30 at the checkout when you order from Routledge to get your 30% discount. This discount only lasts until 30 November 2023. Don't belong to a CAP Member ? Order before September 30, 2023 to get 20% off using code EFL02 . Previous Back to Top Next

17 September 2019 < Back 2019 CAP Awards for Outstanding Planning Achievement in the Commonwealth - SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED! 17 September 2019 Following an excellent response to the call for entries to the 2019 CAP Awards, a shortlist of entries has been identified by our eminent judging panel - Trudi Elliott CBE (CAP Patron and Chair of Judges), Emeritus Professor Cliff Hague OBE (CAP Honorary Vice President), Professor Barbara Norman, Kristin Agnello (CAP Women in Planning Network Coordinator), Viral Desai (CAP Young Planners Network Coordinator), Dr Carol Archer. The shortlisted entries can be viewed here: 2019 CAP Awards Shortlist The Award winners will be announced on the 9th November 2019 at the 50th anniversary conference of the Ghana Institute of Planners in Accra, Ghana. Congratulations to all those who have made it to the Awards shortlist! Clive Harridge Secretary- General 2019-CAP-AWARDS-Shortlist.jpg 2019-CAP-AWARDS-Shortlist.jpg 1/1

By Ian Tant, CAP Vice-President < Back Planning in the UK with COVID-19 20 April, 2020 By Ian Tant, CAP Vice-President The arrival of the coronavirus pandemic required measures to be introduced through the Planning systems (each of the UK nations has its own system) to ensure that the planning system continues to function and to respond to urgent pressures. As with many Commonwealth countries, the Corona virus COVID-19, started to make itself felt around the end of February and into early March. As the number of cases rose, UK Government measures went from the advisory – washing hands frequently, bumping elbows in greeting, standing 2 metres apart – to the compulsory by the 24th March. Whilst not using the word “lockdown”, the measures introduced by the Government came close to this with the instruction to “Stay at home; save lives; protect the National Health Service”. It is still possible to leave home but only for essential purposes – food shopping (as infrequently as possible), daily exercise, journeys to work only for those who cannot work from home. Traffic is still on the roads but at much reduced levels; flying has almost come to a halt; and many, many firms have moved their staff to home working. Video conferencing has spiralled. Measures have also been introduced through the Planning systems (each of the UK nations has its own system) to ensure that the planning system continues to function and to respond to urgent pressures, for example giving blanket planning permission (known as permitted development rights) for restaurants to convert to take-away outlets and for the creation of new medical facilities – including the conversion of major conference venues in cities such as London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow to new hospitals. In local government, planning applications continue to be submitted and are being processed. Site visits are allowed provided applicants and others stay away from the officers while on site to observe social distancing. Importantly, decisions are being made, either through increasing delegation to chief officers or through remotely-attended planning committees: in England the Government has introduced new legislation that allows councils to hold meetings remotely . The Royal Town Planning Institute has responded speedily in its own procedures – indeed, it was ahead of the Government in introducing its measures. All travel by volunteers was suspended on the 2nd March, initially until late April but now until the 31st August. Early orders were made for the purchase of additional laptops and for software licences with the result that all staff were enabled to work from home with only a strictly limited attendance at the headquarters office in London to maintain essential services, including information technology. Once the emergency measures were put in place and everyone was safely at home, attention turned by late March to the ‘new business as usual’. This not only involves maintaining regular member services but also developing thought leadership on what should happen in planning now and into the coming years. A member survey was instigated to understand how the COVID-19 outbreak is affecting Planning and what our members wish to see the Government doing next. There has been regular liaison between the Chief Executive and Government representatives with suggestions and proposals for measures to protect the planning systems and to deliver positive outcomes. One example is the proposal that the life of planning permissions (normally limited to 3 years) should be extended during the crisis so that development can continue to be delivered post-COVID. The measure has already been introduced through legislation in Scotland and may be spread throughout the UK soon. But increasingly attention is turning to the medium and longer term. There is a recognition that it is not only the RTPI that is facing a ‘new normal’ – many patterns of living and working will have been affected. Some of these changes are highly positive and are likely to have a lasting effect. The use of internet conferencing and home working is a clear example of a positive effect: travel is much reduced with consequential environmental benefits in air quality and noise levels. For those of us living under airport flight paths, the sudden awareness of bird song has been startling! But there are other consequences: broadband availability and bandwidth has been severely tested. Notably, even the Automobile Association has suggested that as a nation we should be investing further in broadband capacity rather than in roads. Moreover, there is a recognition that not all our homes are suitable places for families to be ‘locked’ within. Small flats with limited or no amenity space are proving particularly problematic, especially where urban parks have been closed or where social distancing limits access to play space. How will we adapt to the likely loss of retail outlets? Some of our town centre and high street businesses may not return post-COVID and there will be a task in remodelling our town centres – especially if demand for office space is permanently affected by the increased levels of home working. Planning has an important role to play in reshaping our town and city centres and in debate over improved space standards for housing. We will need to resist calls for lower densities and a return to the suburbanisation of housing: there remains a real emergency in climate and biodiversity while rapid urbanisation is likely to remain a feature around the world. As Planners we need to redouble our efforts to ward off deregulation and to argue the benefit of good design of our homes, buildings and places to enable us to adapt to any future pandemics. Now is the time to rethink our approaches and to prepare for a positive future once the crisis has passed. Previous Back to Top Next

08 August 2018 < Back CAP Surveys of Planning Capacity Across the Commonwealth Countries Receive High Profile at United Nations 08 August 2018 The recent survey of planning capacity across Commonwealth countries was widely quoted at the High Level Political Forum at the United Nations in New York in July. Representing the United Kingdom Built Environment Advisory Group, former president of the Royal Town Planning Institute, Janet Askew, attended the forum, which is held annually to discuss progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. In 2018, there was a focus on SDG 11: ‘Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable’. Countries and humanitarian agencies meet with experts to discuss the issues and provide a forum for exchange of ideas. One session looked at increasing built environment professional capacity in local government to deal with two aspects of SDG 11: in humanitarian situations when there is a disaster (war, earthquake, hurricane etc.); but also for the long term, to plan ahead for prevention and response to crisis. In each situation, humanitarian organisations fulfil an important role in delivering aid and managing the emergency. But their involvement is limited to when the crisis occurs; after the initial intervention, they leave. In addition, their intervention results in the local governments not investing in, nor increasing their own capacity to deal with disaster. Built environment professionals have a big role to play in this. By creating plans for places, however rudimentary, some crises might be avoided, and if a disaster does occur, there will be some guidance about how to manage, for example, population movement and re-settlement. Using the data from the CAP survey, Janet Askew was able to report that the number of planners and architects are lowest in the countries, such as Bangla Desh and Uganda, that are most vulnerable to climate change, migration and urbanisation. The surveys were also quoted by other speakers, including by urban planner, Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director of the UN-Habitat, emphasising that planners have a vital role to play for prevention and response in countries facing crisis. Janet Askew was pleased to announce that the Commonwealth associations of planners, architects and engineers have signed a commitment to carry out more research into these issues with the aim of increasing built environment capacity. Drawing on the CAP and CAA Youth Manifesto, she stressed the role of young people in planning for the future, and the urgent need to educate the next generation of planners. The commitments were well received. It was agreed that humanitarian agencies and built environment professionals need to work together. This means learning each other’s languages, and this was high on the agenda. The Sustainable Development Goals are inter-related, and there is a big role for Commonwealth planners to work with governments to co-ordinate their implementation, leading by example and good practice. Janet Askew 2018-08-August.jpg 2018-UN-Panel.jpg 2018-08-August.jpg 1/2

By Kelley Moore, MA, RPP, FCIP < Back Recovering the Future : A Framework for Transformative Recovery from Disaster 24 June 2026 By Kelley Moore, MA, RPP, FCIP At the 24 June 2026 Commonwealth Association of Planners (CAP) Assembly meeting, we were pleased to host Vincent Goodstadt on behalf of the Habitat Professionals Forum (HPF), RTPI and ECTP-CEU about the growing need to rethink disaster recovery through more integrated, participatory and systems-based approaches. At WUF, The Habitat Professionals Forum released the Recovering the Future: A Framework for Transformative Recovery from Disaster. The release recognizes that natural and human-made disasters are becoming increasingly frequent, interconnected and unpredictable — shaped by a wider “polycrisis” that includes climate change, conflict, biodiversity loss, technological disruption, demographic pressures and inequality. In 2023 alone: Approximately 400 disasters affected more than 100 million people globally Annual infrastructure losses exceeded $700 billion More than 120 million people were displaced by conflict, with one-third classified as refugees. The framework builds upon the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and reinforces a critical shift already underway internationally: moving beyond short-term emergency response toward long-term resilience and transformative recovery. Importantly, the paper argues that disaster risk reduction is not simply an emergency management issue — it is fundamentally connected to broader systems of governance, housing, land tenure, law, infrastructure, social equity, planning, ecology and culture. Recovery cannot simply rebuild what existed before. Instead, recovery processes should: Guarantee and protect human rights Strengthen resilience and reduce future vulnerabilities Integrate nature-based approaches Respect local landscape, culture and identity Support participatory and community-led decision making Connect recovery to affordable housing, secure land tenure and long-term planning systems. The framework also reinforces the importance of integrated approaches aligned with SDG 11, the New Urban Agenda and broader Habitat Professionals Forum initiatives including the Roadmap to Recovery, the International Participatory Charter and proposed International Landscape Convention. One particularly important insight is the recognition that implementation and outcomes matter more than simply counting outputs. Participatory recovery should ultimately be measured by whether communities emerge safer, more equitable, more resilient and better connected socially, economically and environmentally. These discussions strongly resonated throughout WUF13 and align closely with many of the themes reflected in the Baku Call to Action, including integrated planning, climate resilience, housing systems, multilevel governance and professional capacity development. For CAP, these conversations reinforce the important role planners and allied professionals can play in advancing integrated, rights-based and locally grounded approaches to recovery and resilience across the Commonwealth and globally. #DisasterRecovery #ClimateResilience#DisasterRiskReduction#IntegratedPlanning#SDG11#BuildBackBetter Previous Back to Top Next

15 August 2017 < Back South African Planning Education Research Project (SAPER) 15 August 2017 SAPER is a 30 months’ project conjointly funded by the ESRC and the NRF, in partnership with the RTPI, SACPLAN and CAP. It is looking at the appropriateness, usefulness and impact of the current planning curriculum in South African Higher Education. The team includes researchers from: The University of Birmingham Dr Lauren Andres - UK Principal Investigator Dr Phil Jones Dr Mike Beazley Dr Lorena Melgaço Birmingham City University Dr David Adams University of the Free State in Bloemfuntein Dr Ruth Massey - SA Principal investigator Stuart Denoon-Stevens Prof. Verna Nel, Mischka Jacobus and Rouvé Bingle Clive Harridge , CAPs Secretary-General is a member of the Project Advisory Board. For many years South Africa has modelled its urban planning practices on Western systems, reinforced by the education and training provided to urban planning students in Higher Education institutions. Concerns have been raised about the relevance and applicability of these methods when planning African cities (Watson, 2003, 2009). Calls for decolonising the curriculum in theory and practice is resonating in current debates while being a very sensitive issue. Now, urban planning in the country faces key challenges including: dealing with the heritage of apartheid and very diverse and segregated cities; a severe shortage of urban planners in the public sector and few opportunities in the private sector; different planning systems operating simultaneously; intense political and economic issues; and of course a vital role for the planning accreditation body SACPLAN. There is therefore a real need to investigate the social and economic value of planning education in South Africa and its challenges which SAPER aims to do; it is also crucial to assess the current needs of South African planning practitioners (skills and training) and the relevancy of the urban planning HE curriculum. Beyond this, it is apparent that, the UK Higher Education needs to reflect upon their practice, particularly when teaching BME and international students, and hence try to maximise knowledge transfer opportunities. Each student’s national background is different. However, lessons can be learnt from the differences and similarities identified out of those distinct contexts, both in the UK and in other African and Commonwealth countries, and avenues for ideas-sharing can be developed. For more information, please contact Lauren Andres , visit the project’s website www.saperproject.com or follow us on various social media means. 2017-SAPER.jpg 2017-SAPER.jpg 1/1

SUSTAINABILITY AND CLIMATE ACTION The fastest population growth and urbanisation are occurring in regions that are also among the most vulnerable to climate change and extreme weather events. Good planning is essential to creating resilient, inclusive and sustainable communities. Together with our partners, CAP is advancing integrated planning approaches that address climate change, sustainable urbanisation and housing challenges across the Commonwealth. Sustainable Cities CAP is a founding partner of the Commonwealth Sustainable Cities Initiative (CSCI) It is a collaboration of Commonwealth organisations working to promote sustainable urbanisation through integrated planning, local governance, education and professional practice. Together, the partners developed the Call to Action on Sustainable Urbanisation and championed its adoption across the Commonwealth. In June 2022, Commonwealth Heads of Government adopted a Declaration on Sustainable Urbanisation , recognising the need for integrated approaches to deliver safe, inclusive and sustainable development while strengthening capacity of cities to respond to climate change and rapid urbanisation. In June 2023, CAP and its CSCI partners —the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), the Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA) and the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF)—signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen collaboration in advancing sustainable urbanisation across the Commonwealth. Read more . Building on these achievements, the partners have launched the Commonwealth Sustainable Cities Coalition (CSCC) Pilot Programme , moving from policy development to implementation through collaborative action on integrated planning, housing, urban finance and capacity development. As lead of the Integrated Planning Action Group, CAP worked with partners to develop practical guidance, case studies and knowledge resources that strengthen planning practice and support sustainable urbanisation across the Commonwealth. Climate Action CAP can make a continuing contribution to addressing the challenges of a changing climate through the expertise and leadership of professional planners across the Commonwealth. CAP can be especially effective in advancing climate change adaptation, mitigation and community resilience through planning policy and practice. Following the work of CAP's Climate Action Working Group , the CAP Climate Action Policy was adopted in 2024.