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Ecosystems and Urban Planning: Implications for planning Valuing Our Life Support Systems, Natural Capital Initiative Conference, London, April 2009 Professor Mark Tewdwr-Jones Bartlett School of Planning University College London [email protected] Opportunities for land use planning and ecosystems (DEFRA 2007) • The planning system plays a vital role in the protection and enhancement of the natural environment. • Embedding the principles of an ecosystems approach in the planning system will help it achieve its over-arching goal of sustainable development by: • ensuring that the positive and negative impacts of development on ecosystem services are reflected in sustainability appraisals • enabling planners to more effectively integrate environmental, social and economic objectives • improving the information available to planners in the decision-making process. The changing face of planning • Planning in the UK already undergoing a metamorphosis Implications: • The historic role and position of planning in the UK now challenged • Susceptible to high political discretion and influence in remoulding planning purpose • Increasing economic focus of planning and development agendas under the sustainable development label • Employment of spatial planning and place making agendas alongside land use planning • ‘Front loading’ in plan making, enhanced information base and participation prior to strategy agreement • Growing importance and influence of environmental matters in strategy making • Policy and delivery mechanisms transcending administrative and sectoral boundaries Planning as a Mediation and Coordinative Process • Meeting European, national and regional needs against a global backdrop • Attracting economic growth and the private sector, but also dealing with implications of growth • Balancing growth with infrastructure provision • Balancing environmental costs with economic gains • Balancing local and community desires with wider social concern • Aligning plans, speedy development decisions, and resources • Mediating between conflicting users and allow more people a voice within the development process National and regional planning • • • • Nationally important developments, new national policy statements for major infrastructure and new decision making process (IPC) Need to embed the principles of an ecosystems approach in its new standard policy-making procedures Sub-National Review proposed integrated regional strategy, led by RDAs, replacing the RESs and RSSs and expands RDAs’ functions to include regional planning. Challenges: 1. Ensuring environmental services are given political priority 2. It will be important to ensure that environmental sustainability remains a priority in this new regional landscape. 3. Integrated and partnership working at the regional level. Problems of: lack of clear leadership organisational barriers capacity and capability issues timing issues Local planning • • • Local government has an important role to play in delivering a healthy natural environment through local plans and strategies Levers include Local Area Agreements (LAAs), which set priorities for local areas; Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs); Sustainable Community Strategies; Local Development Frameworks; local networks and partnerships; statutory duties; Community Infrastructure Levy and other incentives. Challenges: 1. Balancing economic, environmental and social priorities and political objectives 2. Getting decision-makers to focus on the natural environment 3. Building up the evidenced base – how, where and by whom? 4. Integrating environmental services issues early in the policy process 5. Dangers of targeted development and growth parachuted in at 11th hour Opportunities and obstacles ahead • Uncertainty of legal framework and legitimacy – planning law/environmental law etc. • Inability to consider issues strategically beyond existing boundaries and politics • Applying ecosystem services valuations in policy- and decisionmaking • Developing, building in and utilising the evidence base • Improving methodologies for valuing ecosystem services • Shift in balance of power and discretionary judgement • Shift to political and trade relationships rather than spatial ones • Determining who pays for public goods and how • Capacity of planners to recognise and understand ecosystems