F E AT U R E By Ciara Hanson
Public Practice member
Public Practice: Impact of the Collective Public Practice is a new way of bringing built environment back skills into the public sector – a member of the collective explains the approach
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andscape architects in local government may be scarce, but they are needed now more than ever. Local authorities have seen their spending on planning and development cut by 55% over the last decade1 and landscape architecture has been one of the hardest hit disciplines. A recent GLA survey found that over a quarter of London boroughs have no in-house landscape expertise.2 Many authorities are taking bold designer in a planning department, steps to bring built environment a landscape architect for a garden experts back in-house. Public Practice, community, a sustainability and a not-for-profit social enterprise with environmental advisor in corporate a mission for proactive planning, is policy to a design manager in councilsupporting this movement by placing led housing delivery. We are asked to experts in 12-month contracts within tackle the big issues of the housing these authorities. crisis, delivering sustainable growth We are a collective of these and shaping healthier placemaking. individuals who have formed the But the question is, over the short Climate Response Working Group. period of one year, what impact can Our common cause is tackling the we actually make as individuals? climate crisis through planning, We know the housing crisis cannot placemaking and policy. As Public be separated from environmental Practice associates, 10% of our time issues: air pollution and extreme is dedicated to collective research and weather events are all fundamental development and 90% is spent in our threats to healthy placemaking. These day jobs in local authorities across challenges cannot be addressed in London and the South East. isolation. As members of teams and Our roles range from an urban as associates within a wider network, 60
we can build momentum towards collective action. Our working group is producing an action plan for local authorities to achieve tangible carbon reduction targets in response to climate declarations or carbon pledges. This explores political challenges, what ‘carbon neutrality’ means and how to achieve it. The action plan will inform a public practice panel discussion at the Design Museum on how local authorities are taking action in response to the climate crisis in October 2019. We are working to counter the deficit of natural environment expertise in the public sector and to rebalance strategies in favour of environmental and social sustainability. Within six months we’ve already made real progress: One associate has championed their authority produce a Climate Declaration; an associate in an outer London borough has engaged landscape architects in training development management officers to secure high quality public realm through the planning process and multiple associates are promoting a landscapeled approach to master planning. There are opportunities for landscape architects today, but to find them we need to sift through the baffling array of public sector job descriptions and look beyond the dwindling traditional roles. If we do this, landscape architects can embrace roles to strategically shape future development and contribute to a more sustainable public sector, from within. Public Practice is open for applications for the next cohort from October-November 2019. www.publicpractice.org.uk/associates/
1. Members of Public Practice. © Timothy Chase
Our common cause is tackling the climate crisis through planning, placemaking and policy
1 ifs.org.uk/ publications/14133 2 london.gov.uk/whatwe-do/regeneration/ advice-and-guidance/ helping-london-localauthorities-delivergood-growth
