relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Is there a method in the madness? Uniting Spatial Planning and the Ecosystem Approach relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Alister Scott Claudia Carter, Mark Reed, Nicki Schiessel, Karen Leach, Nick Morton, Rachel Curzon David Jarvis, Andrew Hearle, Hayley Pankhurst, Mark Middleton, Bob Forster, Nick Grayson, Ruth Waters, David Collier, Chris Crean, Peter Larkham Miriam Kennet, Richard Coles and Ben Stonyer

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme The Conceptual End Game Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Plan 1.The research journey into the RUF 2.SP meets EA: Process 3.SP meets EA: Outcomes 4.SP meets EA: Lessons Learnt Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme The RUF problem/opportunity Dominant form of land use in 21 C Boundary transition space or edge Positive or negative space? Urban-centric or rural centric space? Contested stakeholder views Environmental change agenda offers rethink Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Cross boundaries Cross sectors Cross disciplines Cross professions RUF Challenge Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme The Journey Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Relu IV Environmental change New Job at BCU New ways of doing research Building new model of interdisciplinarity Bridging the urban rural divide 18 months 140k Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Building a Team BCU Dr Alister Scott PI Aberdeen Dr Mark Reed CI BCU Prof Richard Coles CI BCU Dr Nick Morton CI BCU Dr Rachel Curzon CI BCU Claudia Carter CI* BCU Nikki Schiessel CI* Claudia Carter Forest Research David Collier NFU David Jarvis DJA Consultants Ruth Waters/Andrew Hearle Natural England Karen Leach/Chris Crean Localise West Midlands Miriam Kennet Green Economics Institute Nick Grayson Birmingham Environment Partnership Bob Forster West Midlands Rural Affairs Forum Mark Middleton Worcestershire County Council, WMRA

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme PI as facilitator Role of team meetings Discussion forums Joint discussion agreement of ways forward Evidence : Process Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Team produced their own reflective ‘pieces’ on Spatial Planning Ecosystem Approach Rural Urban Fringe Evidence : Thoughtpieces 1 Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Papers acted as boundaries PI Assembled individual pieces into 2 working papers (1) Critical explorations of SP and EA to define common principles. (2) RUF review Evidence: Thoughtpieces 2 Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Shaped the bridging concepts Shaped the subsequent methodological approaches Role of meetings and telephone conferences IT communication platforms (sharepoint) Evidence: Thoughtpieces 3 Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme SP and EA Compatibilities  New ways of thinking  Holistic frameworks  Cross-sectoral  Multi-scalar  Negotiating  Enabling  Long term perspective  Connectivity  Governance  Equity goals  Regulatory  Market-orientated

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme “… we must learn to apply an adaptive ecosystem approach to ecological planning. This will allow us to deal with the thorny issues of sustainability, itself taken complexly in regional and urban planning, in novel and ultimately more realistic ways.” Vasishth 2008: 101 Vasishth, A. (2008) ‘A scale-hierarchic ecosystem approach to integrative ecological planning’, Progress in Planning 70:

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Reduce complexity of SP and EA white elephants Prioritise 3 concepts that cut across SP and EA thinking using publicly accessible terms Identify areas that pose significant policy challenges Further consultations eg Natural England, Defra, CLG and RELU research fellows. Building the Bridging Concepts Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme The Conceptual End Game Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Time – Long Termism – Learning lessons from the past Connectivity – Flows and linkages vs urban and rural – Multi-scalar relationships and dependencies Values – Core values and belief systems – Professional (Planner, Environmentalist and Publics ) Unpacked Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Evidence Visioning Team Workshops Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Workshops x8 Used networks of the research team Developed by the network to address their key concerns/expertise Low tech interactive approach Discussions recorded Further iteration through report response Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Workshops 1.West Midlands Rural Affairs Forum Improving decision making for the sustainable management of the rural-urban fringe; 25 participants 2.Green Economics Institute x2 Long Termism/ Values in the Built Environment: Rural Urban Fringe & Land Use; 65 participants 3.Birmingham Environmental Partnership Bridging the rural urban divide through green economic opportunities; 88 participants 4.Localise West Midlands Meeting Local needs with local resources in the rural urban fringe; 15 participants

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme 5. West Midland Regional Assembly Learning the lessons from Strategic planning: resurrecting institutional memories;14 participants 6. Forest Research Values and Decision making; 8 participants 7.Birmingham Environment Partnership The 9 piece jigsaw and climate change; 10 participants. 8.BCU Scenarios in the Sustainable Urban Environment EPSRC project Richard Coles; 15 participants Workshops contd. Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Hampton (Peterborough) 18 th July 12 participants (5000+ houses) Worcestershire 19 th July (Redditch- Alvechurch-Lickey Hills)16 participants (landscape scale) To experience/assess the different ‘personalities’ within the RUF To share knowledge, experience and expertise looking at the RUF past, present and future Analyse Strategic Policies for the areas Field based Visioning exercise Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme The RUF transect Idea of a transition and gradient thru a RUF Data led (GIS) via Worcestershire GIP Expert led via developer (Hampton) Transect maximised number of environmental character areas 3 Areas selected for event Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Worcester Transects Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain Viewpoint 1 Viewpoint 2 Viewpoint 3

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Hampton transects Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Promoting the debate about the RUF through interactive approaches Applying the lessons learnt in other research endeavours Publications Joining other research teams Changing Policy Outcomes : Building Bridges Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme RUFopoly Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Concept Plans via Worcestershire GIP

Risk Mapping Contingency Planning Future Proofing Key Partners Climate Risk Water Green Infrastructure Health & Well Being Biodiversity The LEP Community Resilience Transport & Infrastructure The 9 piece jigsaw – GIA Partnership 9 piece Jigsaw

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Outcomes : Social learning IUCN peatlands Study 2010 UK Ireland Planning Research Conference September Special Relu session Defra PES Report 2011 Prager et al 2011 Natural England lessons learnt NFU and LEPS Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Outcomes Publications Published Town and Country Planning 2011 Government Gazette 2011 Tripwire 2011 Land Use Policy Under review Transactions of Institute of British Geographers. Geografiska Annaler About to be submitted. Journal of Env Mgmt Progress in Planning Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme Babies and bathwater in the RUF PI + CI = Team IT platforms do not work Interdisciplinary working requires huge effort in process (not costed). Common language and vocabulary is vital Journey is only starting as grant ends. Accidental nudges Lessons Learnt Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme And finally …. Coproduction – embedding innovative ways of research and working: Research – Policy – Practice Interdisciplinary working with complexity requires experimentation and adaptation SP and EA not separate add-ons, but fundamental change required: mind-set – policies – institutions – governance – adaptive management

relu Rural Economy and Land Use Programme excellence/centre-for-environment-and- society/projects/relu excellence/centre-for-environment-and- society/projects/relu Alister Scott Questions ? Building interdisciplinarity across the rural domain