Why this is important for planners?

The report concludes by summarising why these findings are important for planners.

• Planners and planning systems do a lot of valuable work in helping to deliver global sustainability goals which often transcends what indicators such as the UN SDG indicators can capture. Understanding and exploring these dimensions can improve understandings of what planners do, and how planning needs to work more effectively in the delivery of global sustainability goals.

• The application of global objectives often takes place through a complicated multilevel and multi actor process. Planners often sit at the interface or the ‘sharp end’ of such processes, and need to be given adequate capacity and support if they are to deliver the sustainable planning agenda on the ground.

• Examples of explicit application are particularly important because they can provide a means of demonstrating the value of planning, in a context where politicians and citizens are increasingly looking for measurability. Highlighting how planning is helping to deliver positive change against global sustainability goals  underlines its relevance and legitimacy as a tool for improving the quality of life and places in different global regions.

• The motivation for considering global goals and agendas can vary from place to place. Regardless of whether it is being applied explicitly or implicitly, the global planning agenda is important as it provides planners with a framework and a narrative for global best practice sharing.

• Application of SDG 11 matters for the future development of the planning profession. By embedding the language of SDG 11 into our planning systems now, there is an opportunity to resonate more with younger generations and potentially attract them to the profession.

• Converting knowledge of conditions into action to improve them and work towards global urban sustainability goals requires attention to be paid to the capacity and position of planning and planners to deliver change on the ground. Adopting an application perspective will help explore the performance of the ideas and policy goals articulated by the global agenda, as well as collecting indicators which seek to measure conformance with this agenda.

Dr Olivier Sykes, Senior Lecturer in European Spatial Planning at the University of Liverpool and co-author of the report, said: “UN SDG 11 should be shaping planning cultures worldwide, but our research shows it’s doing so largely through implicit influence. If we’re serious about achieving inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities by 2030, we must translate global awareness into local action. That means embedding the SDGs in education, policy frameworks, and everyday professional practice. Partnerships between universities and practitioners are key to gauging progress and addressing the gaps between aspiration and implementation.”

Jane Healey Brown, Director at Arup Manchester and co-author of the report, said: “Our research has shown that UN SDG 11 provides planners with a valuable framework and a narrative for global best practice sharing. Explicit application is particularly important because it can provide a measurement, and politicians and society are increasingly looking for measurability. This helps demonstrate how planning is delivering positive change. Planners would benefit from a stronger toolkit which provides practical examples of how to integrate the goals and empowers them to deliver. Arup are proud to be working with the University of Liverpool and also the RTPI on this agenda, including a review of the RTPI’s CPD module on sustainable planning.”