The answers were provided at the knowledge exchange symposium sponsored by Scottish Natural Heritage.

Seven speakers presented recent research, examples from planning practice, evolving government policies and new tools for public participation in decision making. The symposium talks are presented in three thematic sections: Theoretical foundations, research on urban design and expert judgement methods; Scottish context, experience and policies; Innovations in community engagement and use of digital technologies.

A CPD certificate for this 3-hour online course is awarded by the University.

Professor Ashraf Salama, head of the Department of Architecture and one of the speakers at the symposium, said: “Following the ethos of Strathclyde as a place for useful learning, this course is the first in the series of online trans-disciplinary courses related to urban planning. The second one on ‘Master Planning for Change’ will be released in February and the third one on ‘Global Sustainable Cities’ in March.

“The first CPD course presents not only research outputs from our academics, but also those from other University departments, Royal Town Planning Institute of Scotland and Northern Ireland, Scottish Natural Heritage and The Royal College of Art in London.”

Professor Branka Dimitrijević, director of knowledge exchange at the Department of Architecture and associate dean knowledge exchange at the Faculty of Engineering, who organised the symposium, added: “We would like to thank Scottish Natural Heritage for sponsoring the symposium. Their participation in the symposium emphasises the importance of considering the impact of urban planning on the natural environment. This and other forthcoming online CPD courses on urban planning and cities will assist urban planners and architects to easily access new knowledge relevant to their practice.”

Those interested in the course can find more information about its contents and learning outcomes here.