‘Why Can’t the Future be More Like the Past?’ Planning History Track,Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP), Annual Congress,Department of Civic Design,University of Liverpool, 15–18 July 2009

AESOP’s 2009 Congress was hosted by the University of Liverpool as part of the centenary celebration of its Department of Civic Design, the world’s oldest university planning school. ‘Why Can’t the Future be More Like the Past?’ was the conference title on all the banners and conference bags – an oddly querulous question, nevertheless it did the trick in getting participants to think historically throughout AESOP 2009. Michael Hebbert and Dirk Schubert ran a planning history track for six of the conference’s seven parallel session slots. Their call for papers elicited 30 abstracts which reduced to 17 papers, a comfortable quantity allowing good time for presentation and discussion. The track had the fortune to be allocated a wood‐panelled Architecture lecture theatre with superb projection facilities – more than one speaker gasped at the glory of their own PowerPoint images.     

History,civilization and urban planning development in China — report from the 10th Academic Committee of Planning History & Theory Conference: 26–29 October 2018, Guilin,China

ABSTRACT

The 10th Academic Committee of Planning History & Theory (ACPHT) Conference took place on 26–29 October 2018, in the Guilin University of Technology (Guilin, China). The annual conference was held for the first time in 2009. Themed ‘Urban Planning in the Course of Civilization’, the 2018 conference probed the continuation and evolution of planning history from different civilizations, defined here as cultural characteristic at a particular place and time. More than 200 delegates attended the conference, bringing together researchers from the fields of planning history, architectural history, city design, public administration, cultural heritage protection, archaeology, art and media, municipal aviation, to socialize and share their work with each other, and to gain insight into interdisciplinary historical research methods. Based on a selection of relevant panels and roundtables, the report explores four prominent themes discussed in the conference: planning history in different historical periods, urban form and heritage, the practical role of planning history, and interdisciplinary approach. The relationship between civilizations development and planning history is illustrated through four topics. It also summarizes the academic consensus, theoretical significance, problems and difficulties, and future-oriented experience of the conference.     

The development of town planning education at University College London 1914–1969: the contributions of professors S. D. Adshead,L. P. Abercrombie,and W. G. Holford

Drawing on archival records of the University of London and University College London (UCL) and contemporary literature, this article examines the development of town planning education at UCL from 1914 to 1969 under the headships of Professors Stanley Adshead, Patrick Abercrombie, and William Holford. UCL established its Certificate and Diploma courses at a time when town planning was in its infancy as an academic discipline and field of professional activity. There were no precedents to follow – it was not until 1916 that the Town Planning Institute formulated its first syllabus. Adshead's initial course structure and curriculum remained largely unchanged until the decision was taken in 1971 to phase out the part-time planning courses. Subsequent changes reflected the personal planning philosophies of his successors, the recommendations of the Schuster Committee of 1950, the post-war transformation of statutory planning in the UK, and the changing requirements of professional accreditation.