Does planning possess the power to address the issues people care about? Kate Henderson, with the UK's Town and Country Planning Association, discusses the results of a year-long study into how planning can help tackle poverty and exclusion.
"A year-long research project studied four communities and found strong evidence that planning could play a much more positive role by better integrating with sectors such as regeneration and health and reconnecting with issues that matter to local people," writes Henderson. But structural and professional obstacles have blunted the social impact of planning in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.
"There is an absence of a clear urban policy for England which deals with the multiple problems faced by many communities," she notes. "Part of the solution must be including planning within social policy more widely and understanding how planning can be tailored for communities struggling with issues such as social exclusion."
FULL STORY: How town planning can help to eradicate poverty
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