As part of PlanTech week, the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and Connected Places Catapult (CPC) yesterday launched a shared vision for the digital future of planning.
Digital planning technologies, or ‘PlanTech’, create opportunities for more efficient, transparent and strategic planning. Over the last few years, the RTPI and CPC have been working together to understand how better data, tools and systems can support the creation of sustainable, resilient and inclusive places.
The new shared vision reflects key messages that have emerged from this work, drawing on contributions made by planners, academics, civil servants, community groups and technology experts. It outlines a shared ambition for a planning system built upon clear structures for the collection, use and sharing of data, and sets out principles which can guide the ongoing development, use and governance of PlanTech.
Speaking at the CPC’s PlanTech conference in London, RTPI Policy Manager James Harris said: “We want to harness the power of technology and direct innovative thinking towards improving the planning system so that our members can work more efficiently, effectively and collaboratively under conditions of complexity and rapid change. We hope that this vision can provide those involved in PlanTech with a common agenda for empowering planners and delivering great places.”
Stefan Webb, CPC Director of Digitising Planning, said: “Planners have always been at the heart of the digital transformation of the planning system that the Catapult is trying to bring about. This new vision and the principles that underpin it should act as a signpost for those in government and industry who are designing, procuring and building the digital planning system of the future.”
