Talks with the Editorial Board - Andrew Close

Andrew Close is Director of Education and Profession at the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). Over his career to date, Andrew has worked in the fields of landscape architecture and urban design, and primarily over the past 15 years in urban planning. Andrew has worked with both local and national governments, and is professionally interested in the relationship between the two levels of government and how decisions are made with respect to planning and the wider natural and built environment.

After returning to university and attaining a Master's of Research in Public Policy, Andrew has increasingly sought to highlight the wider influence of other disciplines and concepts on the planning profession, and vice versa. In his current role, he leads on professional standards for the sector and acts as a bridge between planners in both academia and practice.

Why did you make that career transition from landscape architecture to planning?

Both disciplines think about the art and science of placemaking and how that affects society. During my initial studies, I was more interested in the ‘art side’, of shaping places and hence urban design and landscape architecture. Then as I developed my thinking and experienced more of the world of work, I started to think more about decision-making, legislation, and politics. Which are all key aspects of planning.

Therefore the ‘science bit’ came slightly later. I enjoy working now in that interface between both and how it translates into action and agency ‘on the ground’ across the natural and built environment.

"It is really important that we understand, and accept, that the planning system sits within the political system"

What is your current working focus?

I am leading the implementation of the RTPI Research Strategy, delivering external commissions and in-house projects which link to planning practice and land use regulations and potential planning reform. I think about how best we can synthesise the views of all our professional members - including those working in academia, local government and private practice – to positively influence any changes or reforms to the planning system that a government might bring forward.

It is really important that we understand and accept that the planning system sits within the political system. Ultimately, those that make decisions are accountable to communities. This means that planning professionals, in public and private practice, as well as politicians have a responsibility to deliver.

To ensure we do deliver, we also need to perform research to help us better understand the issues ‘at hand’ and with assessing any proposed policies and impacts. We therefore must engage with university partners who ask those tricky, critical questions about the merits of the planning system and how it should operate to deliver the right kind of outcomes for communities and planners.

My role is to ensure that our members understand this and that they follow our code of conduct, which sets out how professionals should be operating for the benefit of the public.

What upcoming challenges do you foresee in this discussion on planning reform?

We have a devolved planning system in the UK across Wales, Scotland, England and Northern Ireland, which creates a lot of complexity - and we have also recently elected a new national government.

Having a devolved planning system means that we need to consider how all levels of the system work together because a significant number of planning issues are cross-boundary in all senses of the word – local district, intra-country and international. This is important context when considering responses to climate change and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, emerging matters such as AI and the role of digital planning, and evolving professional definitions of working in the public interest.

"I think this relationship [between planning practitioners and academics] is at the heart of the planning profession"

What do you believe is the value of planning research for practice? and conversely, what can planning practitioners contribute to research?

I think this relationship is at the heart of the planning profession.

My colleagues at the RTPI and I have been looking into the history of planning education and exploring how planning as an academic subject and a profession have developed together over the past hundred years.

Concepts such as the garden city, new towns and other groundbreaking propositions were developed at the turn of the century resulting from this interaction between practical and theoretical thinking. Those concepts were subsequently adopted with success by a series of governments across the globe. So, it remains essential that we understand and value that interface, that is something I certainly try to do myself in my planning practice.

There’s an interesting feedback loop in which practitioners can feed into academic considerations around good practice, around benchmarking and learning from each other. At the RTPI we encourage the creation and use of case studies to learn from the way that decisions have delivered results on the ground, and further iterate the concepts and ideas involved.

The other aspect for practitioners concerns how research is celebrated and communicated with the world. The RTPI leads the way with its annual research excellence awards. I think it is really important to celebrate good practice and good thinking.

What is the one planning book (or article) that you think every planner, researcher and practitioner should read?

Along with the seminal planning and urban design book by Jane Jacobs ‘The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961), one book that made me think differently is ‘The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces’ (1980) by William H. Whyte. In the book which documents a ten-year research project, he observes how communities actively develop or create spaces. I think it illustrates the importance of observation for planners, both those who are of an academic perspective and those who are working directly in practice for and with communities.

I would also suggest that people look out for ‘Town and Country Planning’, the journal of the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA). I personally find it very insightful as a practitioner - and someone who works on that interface with academia - because it is about real-world planning, with a critical academic eye.

Our talk with Andrew Close is part of a series of interviews we are undertaking looking into the experiences and current projects of our Editorial Board members.

If you have any questions or feedback, for Andrew or for us, then we want to hear from you in the comments below.