Urban planning and design are both professional and academic disciplines. Relations between academia and the
professions are rarely straightforward. Do universities exist primarily to provide basic training to prepare new
graduates for the world of work, or to push the boundaries of thinking beyond currently accepted professional
wisdom? Are academics leading or following practitioners? Do professional demands constrain or inspire critical and
creative teaching and research? These were some of the questions addressed at a round table of academics,
practitioners and ‘pracademics’ hosted by Urban Design and Planning at the recent World Planning Schools Congress
in Perth, Western Australia (4–8 July 2011)
