Our latest article has been accepted—post peer review—for publication in Planning Practice & Research:
The paper draws upon a novel analytical framework to review a sample of community-led plans produced across the four nations of the United Kingdom. It explores how communities interpret issues of (in)justice and how they seek to address them. Focussing on plans produced by communities categorised as more deprived, the analysis shows that abstracted notions of equality, diversity and inclusion are almost entirely absent, with communities more likely to focus on tangible issues of local importance such as access to affordable housing, health and service provision. The paper concludes by exploring the implications of these findings for understandings of justice.
The research team – Gavin Parker, Matthew Wargent, John Sturzaker and Tessa Lynn – penned a short response to the recently launched ‘Plan for Neighbourhoods’ asking how people will actually be involved… Read it by clicking the link below
Think Neighbourhoods, the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods’ interim report, argues that a neighbourhoods-approach is essential for delivering the change the country needs, including the government’s missions, and to restoring a sense of renewal and purpose to the country.
The Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods has worked with Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion (OSCI) to identify which neighbourhoods are most at risk of not achieving the government’s missions.
In this report ICON explores attitudes in these neighbourhoods through polling done by Public First, arguing that a targeted approach is needed to improve disadvantaged neighbourhourhoods and achieve national renewal.
A publication published in March 2025 by ICON combines the findings from the reviews that answers the following questions:
1. How should a neighbourhood and a neighbourhood intervention be defined?
2. Why do neighbourhoods matter?
3. How do people experience living in the most deprived neighbourhoods?
4. What are the interventions and/or delivery mechanisms that have had most social and economic impact at the neighbourhood level?
5. What does this mean for building an effective neighbourhood policy both nationally and at regional and local authority levels?
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which was introduced to Parliament on the 11th March 2025 introduces measures in an attempt to speed up planning decisions to boost housebuilding and the delivery of vital developments like roads, railway lines and windfarms. The government aims to l boost economic growth, connectivity and energy security whilst also delivering for the environment, with this new Bill.
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