Sustainable Development Goals can help achieve Successful Outcomes

A report by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) on the value of planning, from June 2014, described planning as “a much broader activity than the narrow regulatory role to which it is relegated by many economists and some politicians. Planning helps to create the kinds of places where people want to live, work, relax and invest ...” The latest in this series of valuable research reports has just been published by the RTPI. The report entitled: Measuring what matters, planning outcomes,  considers how local authorities can measure the outcomes of planning. This, the report says, goes beyond simple metrics like speed of processing applications and number of housing units delivered and assessing planning in terms of placemaking aspirations and social, economic and environmental value, in order to track and improve the impact of planning.

The RTPI report points out that understanding and evaluating the impact of planning in relation to higher level goals, such as the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs), or other national government outcomes tied to these, is ambitious and still in the early stages. It goes on to say:

“Our survey evidence suggests that while this is progressively being established in many places, there is still not necessarily a clear knowledge of what is being delivered through the planning system. If there can be more comprehensive data on the outcomes of a planning application for example, looking beyond simply number of units built, then evaluating the wider cumulative impact would represent a considerable leap in understanding performance.”

The latest report makes an important contribution to the discussion about the value of planning at a time when it is once more under scrutiny. It is also important in drawing attention to the relevance of the SDGs to planning practice. I have argued on a number of occasions, for the importance of SDGs to planning practice in the UK. It is increasingly likely that local authorities (and the planners working in them) will take the lead in delivering the SDGs and thereby Sustainable Development. This report provides a valuable information source to local authorities and local authority planners looking to achieve that aim.