Seminar 5: The Communicative Turn in Planning Theory and its Implications for Spatial Strategy Formation: By P Healey

In this paper Patsy Healy outlines the shift that planning has experienced throughout its history. Urban and Regional planning initially wasn't really planning at all, it was more just design architects trying out there plans to build urban areas not really taking into account the community or practicality of that. Then planning moved on to understanding you need to plan urban and regional areas for them to work efficiently, so planners would draw maps and implement them with the best of intentions but these maps, designs and plans were doomed to fail for one key reasons, if you don’t communicate with the community either the plan won’t work in that community or an amazing plan for that community was designed and it is really what the community needs but they will reject it because they feel like they haven’t been consulted and their concerns have been skipped over .

Newport

Patsy Healy recognised this, and took not of a shift in planning theory from just plan, design implementation to consult, plan, consult, design, consult, implement, and receive feedback and criticisms. This shift in planning theory was huge for many reasons one your plans were/are effective in that community, two it increased the time and planning spent on design, increased the planning processed involved in urban and regional planning and flow onto to an evolution in how to consult with an increase in the quality of technology. Within the seminar the example given showing how community consultation has evolved in planning theory and spatial strategy was the Newport local development plan.  The Newport local development plan used advanced planning techniques to improve the towns community, economy and environment they began this with a comprehensive consultation and background research they then developed land use plans and land requirements for spatial strategy, looked at employment and education to improve the local economy, consulted through many different and open forums such as the internet, town hall, phone, community facilities, libraries and around the town more generally. The addressed and resolved issues consulted again and then finalised the report document and submitted it for critique. This resulted in a workable plan for the community and improved the economy, environment and community.