Most of you will have heard of and, indeed, come into contact with planning. Perhaps you know someone who has extended their home, have seen planning notices fixed to lampposts or have heard people discussing planners and development while standing at the bus stop. But it is not always clear from these insights what planners actually do or how they do it. In this module we will consider what is involved in ‘doing’ planning in practice. We will critically review the planning application documents to understand how plans are made at the design stage of a project, what is produced for a planning application and how planning decisions are assessed to account for wider issues such as sustainability and design quality. You will navigate real-world planning proposals, read drawings and officer reports to understand how these influence planning process and outcomes. You will be asked to think about the decisions made, and the role played by enforcement.