Academic commentary from Jill Jameson

Invited academic commentary on leadership case study for South East England Development Agency (SEEDA): case study of Advanced Resources Management Ltd

Housing supply and brownfield regeneration in a post-Barker review world: A comparison of policy and practice in England and Scotland

The findings of the Barker review, which examined the reasons for the undersupply of UK housing, have important implications for the devolved constituents of the UK, including Scotland. This paper traces the emergence of the brownfield regeneration policy agenda across the UK and examines how the Barker review connects with this brownfield policy focus. The paper compares housing and brownfield policies and practices in England and Scotland, places them in an international context and elicits wider lessons for devolved governance in relation to housing policy, in terms of `centrist—local' tensions. Estimates based on published data suggest that Barker's emphasis on increased housing supply cannot easily be reconciled with the current emphasis on brownfield development and is likely to require a return to greenfield development in both countries

Exploring the regional politics of 'sustainability': making up sustainable communities in the South East of England

This paper sets to explore and clarify the nature of the politics associated with the institutional shift from government to governance, in the context of the rise of sustainability and sustainable communities as governance discourses. After critically considering the extent to which this represents a move to some sort of post-political settlement, it turns to reflect on the notion of assemblage as a means of interpreting emergent forms of politics and governance and exploring the ways in which different priorities may be negotiated in practice. It highlights the processes by which new political realities are assembled around particular concerns without necessarily ever being fully integrated into some overarching unified set of understandings. And it highlights continued tensions and divisions around sustainability and its implications, which undermine attempts to build a governing (or post-political) consensus. These issues are informed by a review of some aspects of the 'sustainable communities plan' and its implementation, with a particular focus on the South-East of England

What is stopping sustainable building in England? Barriers experienced by stakeholders in delivering sustainable developments

In England there is both top-down and bottom-up pressure to deliver a sustainable built environment. However, most new projects display few sustainability features. This paper presents 12 barriers to achieving sustainability in development schemes, drawn from qualitative research on five recently completed projects in England. The barriers that were identified by the stakeholders in the schemes include a lack of consideration of sustainability measures, real and perceived costs and inadequate expertise and powers. The paper concludes by suggesting some ways in which these barriers might be overcome. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Fostering sustainability in infrastructure development schemes

This article was published in the journal Proceedings of the ICE: Engineering Sustainability [© Institution of Civil Engineers].In recent years much emphasis has been placed upon meeting the environmental and socioeconomic aims of sustainable development. This is being driven by government policy and industry initiatives, with the main emphasis placed on the building sector, where it is perceived that most benefits can be gained. Although financial incentives and drivers are perhaps more readily quantifiable in this market, the potential to mitigate the negative environmental and socioeconomic impacts associated with the development of infrastructure such as roads, drainage and utilities at a neighbourhood scale may be no less significant, if more difficult to measure. Despite this, relatively little attention has been paid to the sustainable design of infrastructure. In addition, change to the UK planning system has been identified as a key mechanism to deliver sustainability policy, but there appears to be a poor connection between planning policy and infrastructure implementation practices. Sustainable construction, planning policy and the notion of the engineer's role in sustainable infrastructure are explored in this paper, which concludes by presenting four areas where improved dialogue between stakeholders and enhancement of the engineer's role at an early stage could improve sustainability in infrastructure development projects