As an Urban/Spatial Planner and Placemaking practitioner, I am passionate about places and the communities whose well-being they (should) support. With 40+ years' experience in the UK and internationally, I head the planning and placemaking studio, OpenPlan, based in Lincoln, England.I also Chair the Sincil Community Land Trust (Lincoln).My work focuses mostly on supporting national and local government and local communities in the preparation of strategies, local plans, neighbourhood plans, and spatial development strategies. I am passionate about: * creating liveable, complete and sustainable neighbourhoods and places;* bringing about sustainable changes to reinvigorate town and city centres and high streets, as the hearts of their communities;* fully embedding Climate Change considerations in plans for places;* helping communities to increase their resilience to shocks and disruptive events;* putting community and stakeholder engagement at the heart of planning and placemaking.I work in the UK and internationally and have a strong interest in spatial planning and placemaking challenges facing small island states, especially in the Caribbean. I have worked on planning, environmental management and urban design projects in Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Nevis, St. Lucia, St Vincent & The Grenadines, and Trinidad & Tobago.I am:- a Chartered Town Planner ( Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute [RTPI] - member of Nations & Regions Panel and RTPI East Midlands Regional Management Board);- a member of the Town & Country Planning Association;- an Academician of the Academy of Urbanism; and I'm also- a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). Background:I studied Geography and Sociology at the University of Hull, gaining a BA (Hons), before going on to gain a Post-Graduate Diploma in Town and Country Planning from Trent Polytechnic (now The Nottingham Trent University). In the earlier years of my professional career, I worked for local authorities in Lancaster, Boothferry and the City of Lincoln, before moving into consultancy as a partner with Dalia and Nathaniel Lichfield (Lichfield Planning) in 1999.I co-founded Globe Consultants Ltd in 2010, and set up Globe Consultants International in 2012, which was renamed OpenPlan (Open Plan Consultants Ltd) in January 2014. I have lectured at several universities in England (Lincoln, Nottingham Trent, Sheffield Hallam) and I have frequently provided training to local authorities and fellow professionals.