Diversity and Convergence: Planning in a World of Change

The UK-Ireland Planning Research Conference 2010
Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, Essex
7th-9th April 2010

http://www.anglia.ac.uk/ruskin/en/home/faculties/fst/departments/builtenv/planning_skills_short/planning_research.html


In April 2010, the annual Planning Research Conference will be hosted by the Department of the Built Environment at Anglia Ruskin University. An interdisciplinary mix of researchers, policymakers and practitioners will present and debate current issues in research concerned with the challenging and changing context of planning.

The conference will take place over three days, from lunchtime on Wednesday 7th April to the afternoon of Friday 9th April. It will include eight thematic paper tracks, together with plenary sessions featuring keynote speakers, poster sessions, Conference Dinner, and local study tours. The themed tracks are:

    * Cities and International Development
    * Governance, Policy and Planning
    * Equality, Inclusion and Environmental Justice
    * Urban and Rural Regeneration
    * Urban Design, Heritage and Conservation
    * Climate change, Sustainability and Ecology
    * Mobility, Transport and Accessibility
    * Planning Education, Professional Development and Practice
    * Additional Sessions


Mobility, Transport and Accessibility

Convenor: Lee Woods, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Portsmouth

Some thoughts on this track:
How is our current planning system helping to create less environmentally damaging mobility patterns? Should we be trying to do so in the current economic climate or is economic growth now our biggest priority? Are the two mutually exclusive?

What part can the planning system play in improving access to goods and services in urban and rural environments in an increasingly online society, with diverse mobility patterns, lifestyles and resources?

Can increasing the cost of transport encourage more compact urban development? How can this be achieved in a world of unstable oil prices?

Papers exploring these and related issues are warmly invited.  Please see weblink above for further information including details on how to submit abstracts.