From planning theory to urban practice: what can planning still do in an uncertain world?

As the MSc Regional and Urban Planning Studies programme celebrates its 60th anniversary, this roundtable brings together three leading scholars of planning to reflect on the changing role, aspirations and limits of planning in the face of contemporary urban and global challenges.

Over six decades, planning has moved from post‑war regional visions to fragmented governance, localism, data‑driven expertise and intensified social and environmental pressures. While expectations placed on planning have grown around climate action, social justice, housing affordability, and democratic participation, among others, its formal powers and public legitimacy are often contested.

Drawing on perspectives from planning theory, neighbourhood governance and metropolitan policy, the panel will ask: what distinctive contribution can planning still make today? How should planners think about power, participation, and expertise in increasingly complex governance landscapes? And what responsibilities should a new generation of planners carry forward as urban challenges become ever more intertwined with global crises?

Meet our speakers and chair

Dr Nancy Holman is Associate Professor of Urban Planning at LSE. Nancy joined the Department of Geography and Environment in August 2008 having previously managed the MSc in Housing and Regeneration in the Department of Social Policy, also at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Nancy is the outgoing Director of the MSc in Regional and Urban Planning Studies having taught on the programme for more than 20 years and directed it for the last 18.

Dr Phil Allmendinger is Professor of Land Economy and Prov Vice Chancellor for Education and Partnerships at the University of London. Prior to that he was Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Bath and for 14 years Professor of Land Economy at the University of Cambridge were he was also Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences and a Deputy Vice Chancellor for City and Regional Affairs. He has published widely on planning and planning theory. With Mathew Wargent and Mark Tewdwr-Jones he published an edited edition called Critical Planning Futures in 2025. The 4th Edition of his book Planning Theory will be published later this year. He’s currently working on a new book, provisionally entitled Saving Planning, which argues that incremental reform is no longer sufficient if the system is to avoid the more populist alternatives that wait in the wings.

Dr Matthew Wargent is a Lecturer in Urban Planning and Development at Cardiff University. Matt’s research focuses on the planning, governance and development of urban space, with a particular emphasis on neighbourhoods, localism, and public participation.

Professor Hyun Bang Shin is Professor of Geography and Urban Studies and Head of the Department of Geography and Environment at LSE. Elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in the UK, Professor Shin has contributed to reshaping the understanding of contemporary urban transformation, emphasising the socio-political dynamics of cities in rapidly developing regions, particularly in East and Southeast Asia.

More about this event

This event is for invited guests only and is not open to the public.

The Department of Geography and Environment is a centre of international academic excellence in economic, urban and development geography, environmental social science and climate change.

If you have a query, please contact us at geog.comms@lse.ac.uk.

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