MPlan Planning with Professional Placement

Rural landscapes are critical locations for economic, socio-cultural and environmental planning, as they provide jobs, food, opportunities for tourism, and key ecological functions. However, rural areas in the UK and internationally are changing due to the ways in which government, planners, developers, and communities interact with them. Consequently, what we think of as “the rural” is fluid. Planning for rural development has though been slower to respond to changes in policy, development and management. This module looks at both historical and contemporary approaches to rural planning to examine the key socio-economic, environmental and political factors that are shaping rural places.

The module will engage with significant issues related to housing, infrastructure, economic development, and nature to debate whether rural areas are being planned for, and developed sustainably. By questioning what we mean by “the rural” the module will ask whether, and if so how, geographical, historical or thematic understandings of rural areas are helping to shape these locations.

As noted in the RTPI’s 2022 Rural Planning for the 2020s report “rural areas plat a critical role in adapting to broader societal and environmental challenges by acting as site for adaptation”. It is within this space – rural areas as adaptive and responsive areas of change – that the module will focus its debate. By looking at the options available for rural planners in the UK and internationally the module will highlight the interaction of barriers and constraints with the opportunities available to promote sustainable rural development.

The unit aims to:

1. Introduce the concept, structures and policies that shape Rural Planning in the UK and Internationally.

2. To critically review the inter-relationships between rural environments and the forms of planning interventions that take place within them.

3.To evaluate the institutional arrangements for sustainable long-term rural planning for the economy, society and nature.

4. To reflect on the relationship between the urban and rural and understanding what constitutes the “rural”.

Students should be able to: 

The module makes use of a blended learning environment utilising face-to-face teaching methods supported by pre-prepared/recorded materials for lectures and supplementary material focussing on specific locations uploaded to the VLE.

1. Face-to-Face

Each week a face-to-face lecture will be held developing core ideas regarding the development and utility of GI in practice. These will focus on the core issues of the module including: context, scale, stakeholders and the interaction of policy and practice, to illustrate the complexity and complimentary of planning in rural areas of the UK and internationally.

2. Individual oral feedback in class and via office hours

Individual feedback will be offered to students on an ad-hoc basis to support the development of their assignments via in-class and office hour drop in sessions.

3. Online information/evidence repository

The module VLE site will hold a repository of academic and practitioner focussed articles, policies, videos, weblinks and podcast links. These should be used to supplement the module reading and to provide complimentary evidence/examples to support student learning.
 

Be able to demonstrate an understanding of contemporary rural planning issues through the preparation of short form answers.

To be able to demonstrate a critical awareness of the diversity of rural planning arguments and how evidence can be transferred between diverse geographical, thematic and/or disciplinary scenarios. 

 

To be able to critically analyse strengths, weaknesses and challenges related to rural planning 

To be able to provide a clear synthesis of recommendations for the future of planning in rural areas. 

Be able to write an appraisal of the challenges facing rural communities based on personal learning and data gathering/synthesis.
To be able to illustrate your arguments with examples drawn from real world situations.
 

Be able to critically discuss a range of policy and practice options suitable for future rural planning scenarios with peers. 
To be able to respond appropriately and concisely with policy/practice recommendation in a variety of written and oral forms. 

Summative feedback will be provided for the exam.

Additional formative feedback will be available via in-class feedback / discussion and offices hours with module staff.

Indicative Reading List

Baro, F., Gomez-Baggethun, E. & Hasse, D. (2017) Ecosystem service bundles along the urban-rural gradient: Insights for landscape planning and management. Ecosystem Services, 24, 147-159.

Frank, K.I. & Hibbard, M. (2016) Production, consumption, and protection: perspectives from North America on the multifunctional transition in rural planning. International Planning Studies. 21, 3, 245-260.

Frank, K.I. et al. (2020) Comparative Rural Planning Cultures. Planning Theory & Practice. 21, 5, 769-795.

Goode, C. (2022) The enduring importance of strategic vision in planning: the case of the West Midlands Green Belt. Planning Perspectives, 27, 6, 1231-1259.

Helm, D. (2022) Natural capital, carbon offsetting and land use, Scottish Land Commission [online], available from https://www.landcommission.gov.scot/downloads/628de8eb9c11a_Land%20Lines%20Natur al%20capital-carbon%20offsetting%20and%20land%20use.pdf  
   
OECD (2020) Policy Implications of Coronavirus Crisis for Rural Development, Paris: OECD.

Palmer, W. and Rolewicz, L. (2020) ‘Rural, remote and at risk: Why rural health services face a steep climb to recovery from Covid-19’, Briefing December, Nuffield Trust, London, [online], Available from: https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/files/2020-12/covid-19-rural-health-servicesfinal.pdf.  

Place Alliance (2020) Home Comforts during the Covid-19 Lockdown, London: Place Alliance.

Scott, M., Gallent, N. & Gkartzios, M. (Eds.) (2019) The Routledge Companion to Rural Planning. Routledge, Abingdon.

Shucksmith, M. (2018) Re-imagining the rural: From rural idyll to Good Countryside. Journal of Rural Studies. 59, 163-172.  

Sturzaker, J. & Shucksmith, M. (2011) Planning for housing in rural England: Discursive power and spatial exclusion. Town Planning Review, 82, 2, 169-193.

Sturzaker, J. et al. (2022) Rural Planning in the 2020s. Royal Town Planning Institute, London. https://www.rtpi.org.uk/media/11955/rural-planning-in-the-2020s.pdf  

Suresh, V. et al. (2022) Impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the economic situation and food security of rural households in India. Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/jadee-07-2021-0177/full/html

Taylor, M. (2008) Living working countryside: the Taylor review of rural economy and affordable housing, Department for Communities and Local Government, London

Topham, G. (2021b). "Great British Railways plan aims to simplify privatised system." [online] available from https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/may/19/uk-rail-overhaulprivatised-great-british-railways-.    

Wilczak, J. (2017) Making the countryside more like the countryside? Rural planning and metropolitan visions in post-quake Chengdu. Geoforum, 78, 110-118

Woods, M (2005) Rural geography: processes, responses and experiences in rural restructuring. Sage Publishing, London.