Gender equality guide spells out planners' responsibilities

Planning, 20 June 2008

PPS1 puts a better quality of life for everyone, both now and in the future, at the heart of sustainable development. This sets equality and diversity as a material consideration in planning policies and decisions that should be integral to everyday service delivery.

Planners should therefore take positive action to ensure that their policies and practice are inclusive and do not result in the disadvantaging of some communities and individuals. In practice, this means much more than treating everyone the same. Sustained effort is required to ensure that the unique needs of all sections of society are fully considered and provision made for them in the planning system.

This issue was highlighted in RTPI Good Practice Note (GPN) 7 on gender and spatial planning. This was published late last year to coincide with the introduction of the duty to promote gender equality in the UK via the Equality Act 2006 and the first decade of section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

The gender duty requires local authorities to promote gender equality and eliminate sex discrimination by setting out priorities and using gender impact assessments. For the first time planners are legally required to consider gender issues.

The note provides them with a wealth of practical help by examining definitions of equality, legal responsibilities and the key gender issues affecting spatial planning. It then focuses on specific areas of planning, setting out key facts and good practice.

Other guidance available in the GPN series covers equalities and diversity issues, including advice on effective community involvement and consultation, planning for Gypsies and travellers and the development and management of extra care housing.

The GPNs aim to offer clear, practical and succinct advice to planners. The notes have all been published in the past two years and are regularly reviewed to ensure that the content remains accurate and up to date. There is a web-based resource that signposts sources of further information.

Sarah Lewis is RTPI planning practice officer. The Good Practice Notes are available at www.rtpi.org.uk/item/325/23/5/3. Printed copies are available on request. To develop the service further, feedback is sought from members on whether the RTPI is providing advice on the right topics at the right level of detail and in the format that they require. Please let us know your views by completing the online survey at www.rtpi.org.uk/the_rtpi/practice.