An online resource has been developed by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and Commonwealth Association of Planners to help planning organisations across the world assess their capacity to respond to the challenges of urban growth.

Launched by the Global Planners Network (GPN), it is hoped the ‘self-diagnostic tool to assess planning capacity’ will measure the skills-base, organisational capacity, leadership and working methods of planning organisations.

The tool will also build a picture of the way different countries plan their settlements, helping to develop international support and knowledge networks between planning organisations.

Available online and in hard copy in English, French, Spanish and Chinese the tool is tailored to fit the experiences of all types of planners working in public, private or voluntary sectors, and all organisations and institutions with responsibility for planning and managing where people live.

The outcomes of this project will be presented later this year to the UN Habitat World Urban Forum 4 in Nanjing, ‘Urbanisation, Poverty and Climate Change’ and to the GPN Congress in Zhenjiang entitled ‘Spatially Harmonious Cities’.

Will French, who is managing the project for the GPN said: “Rapid urbanisation is a huge and growing challenge for cities world wide. Good planning is essential to provide housing and the essential infrastructure and services that make places fit for habitation. This diagnostic tool will help us all to better understand what skills and capacity exist, where possible gaps might be and how best to fill any identified.”

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 18:15:21 +0000