Jonathan Manns

Jonathan Manns is a British town planner and surveyor. He is a writer, speaker, educator and campaigner on built environment issues.

Research & Proposals

Manns has been described as a "pre-eminent British planner of his generation" and as "[one] of Britain's foremost urbanists".[1] [2] He has been involved with many of London's tall buildings and contributed extensively to discussions around the management of land for housing. His work has attracted international interest and he has proposed reforms to several key policy areas.[3] [4] [5] [6]

Housing crisis

Manns has written extensively on the UK housing crisis. In 2017 he established the "House Me Now" campaign which crowd-funded the distribution of 2000 pass-it-on pamphlets around London to raise awareness of solutions amongst ordinary Londoners of possible solutions and to begin a social media debate.[7] In 2018, on behalf of the campaign, he signed an open letter, submitted by Siobhan McDonagh MP, to the UK Government, calling for the release of land close to transport nodes for development. [8]

Green belt

Manns' work on Green Belts is cited widely. In 2014 he authored a history of the emergence of London's green belt, which said that it should not be treated as sacrosanct and set out the historical precedent for reform.[9] He has subsequently supported work by the London School of Economics [10] and in 2016 put forward the concept of a "Green Web" whereby new development would be accompanied by environmental enhancements and contribute to a net gain in biodiversity.[11] Manns' commentary on Green Belts has at times attracted criticisms: both that property professionals make unconvincing champions for reform [12] and that his varied public profile constitutes a form of lobbying (a criticism which has itself attracted attention [13]). [14] [15] He has always stated his view that "public policy should be adaptable and that the emphasis should be firmly on securing the best outcomes. It should be possible to consider both whether the overall effects are beneficial and whether there is scope for improvement. If opportunities exist to deliver development more sustainably, the ability to explore and realise this should not be prevented by dogmatic defence of the status quo. England's green belt should not be off the table for appraisal and, if appropriate, amendment." [16]

Suburbs

The UK Parliament announced a "Suburban Taskforce" in March 2020, to be co-chaired by Rupa Huq MP and David Simmonds MP. [17] It is formed from a cross-party group of politicians "to shine a light on the suburbs in order to identify and secure the clear, long-term and properly resourced policies needed to support thriving, sustainable and inclusive suburban areas".[18] The Advisory Board was announced in August 2020, with Manns named as its Chair.[19][20]

West London Orbital

Manns co-authored an analysis of growth options for the UK Government's All Party Parliamentary Group for London's Planning and Built Environment, in which he proposed new orbital rail links in West London, connecting existing communities and those which could accommodate additional growth. It encouraged West London Alliance to reconsider work it had commissioned in 2001 which flagged the scope to connect Old Oak Common and Brent Cross along the Dudding Hill line.[2] This was agreed at the following meeting of the West London Economic Prosperity Board, in December 2016,[21] and the Board voted to engage the Mayor of London around a West London Orbital in June 2017,[22] which the Mayor committed himself to delivering in March 2018.[23]

Land measurement

He has been commissioned by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors to prepare the first international guidance on the measurement of land and calculation of associated metrics such as density.[24] On publication these new definitions will establish a global standard for all land measurements around the world. [25] A draft was released for consultation in 2019. [26]

Advocacy & Affiliations

In 2016 he was invited to co-launch the Open City "Green Sky Thinking" week.[27] He teaches at UCL[28] and is on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal.[29] He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS) and the Royal Town Planning Institute (FRTPI).

Political advocacy

In 2015, Manns was Convenor of the UK Government's All Party Parliamentary Group for London's Planning and Built Environment.[30] The purpose of the APPG is "to explore the social, economic and environmental issues affecting London at a strategic level and build consensus as to the ways in which these might be addressed." [31] The group, chaired by Rupa Huq MP, has since discussed matters from the Green Belt to the Grenfell Fire.

Public advocacy

Manns is a trustee of the London Society, which was founded in 1912 to promote debate around London's built environment with members of the public.[32] He is on the Advisory Board for the Patchwork Foundation, which seeks to engage those from non-traditional backgrounds in politics and civil society.[33] He also assisted with the Long Live Southbank campaign to protect and extend London's historic skate spot. [34]

References
  1. ""Going Above and Beyond" - RTPI Welcomes New Fellows". The Planner: 46. February 2019 – via Issuu.
  2. Huq, Rupa (2016). "Foreword". Re/Shaping London: Unlocking Sustainable Growth in West London and Beyond (PDF). London: APPG for London's Planning and Built Environment. p. 2.
  3. Major, Mark David (2018). The Syntax of City Space: American Urban Grids. New York (USA): Routledge. ISBN 9781138301573.
  4. Kesarovski, Todor (October 2014). "Planning in Practice". Atlantis. Delft (Nederlands): TU Delft. 25 (1).
  5. Buxton, Michael; Butt, Andrew (2020). The Future of the Fringe: The Crisis in Peri-urban Planning. Melbourne (Australia): Csiro Publishing. ISBN 9781486308965.
  6. Kahale, Lori (2016). "Rendezvous with Jonathan Manns". Urban. New York (USA): Columbia University: 17–18.
  7. Harold, Jess (7 June 2017). "Diary: Crowdthinking the housing crisis". Estates Gazette.
  8. McDonagh, Siobhan (7 December 2018). "London's Non-Green Green Belt" (PDF). Siobhan McDonagh MP. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  9. Prynn, Jonathan (9 December 2014). "'London's green belt isn't sacrosanct … we need to build homes on it'". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  10. Mace, Alan; Blanc, Fanny; Gordon, Ian; Scanlon, Kath (2016). A 21st Century Metropolitan Green Belt. London: LSE Knowledge Exchange.
  11. "Calls for Green Web to develop capital". London Planning Analyst. 27 October 2016.
  12. Moore, Rowan (19 October 2014). "Is it time to rethink Britain's green belt?". The Observer. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  13. Grindrod, John (2017). Outskirts: Living Life on the Edge of the Green Belt. London: Sceptre. ISBN 978-1473625020.
  14. Gilligan, Andrew (5 February 2017). "Lobbyists behind attack on green belt". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  15. Grant, Wyn (2018). Lobbying: The Dark Side of Politics. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-1-5261-2668-9.
  16. Manns, Jonathan (2019). "Revived or retired, the green belt must be rethought". Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal. Henry Stewart. 12 (3): 215–217 – via IngentaConnect.
  17. Champ, Hamish (9 March 2020). "MPs vote to create taskforce for London suburbs". Housing Today. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  18. "The Suburban Taskforce". The Suburban Taskforce. 26 October 2020.
  19. Pitcher, Greg (19 August 2020). "Call for evidence as Suburban Taskforce starts work". Architects Journal. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  20. Davies, Helen (23 August 2020). "Suburbs in the UK are due a renaissance". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  21. Agenda and Minutes (PDF). West London Economic Prosperity Board. 6 December 2016. pp. 42–43.
  22. Agenda and Minutes (PDF). West London Economic Prosperity Board. 27 June 2017. pp. 21–46.
  23. Mayor's Transport Strategy (PDF). London: Greater London Authority. 2018. p. 231.
  24. Kersey, Jim (8 August 2019). "RICS Publishes Pioneering Guidance for Land Measurement". Property Notify. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  25. "First global standards for land measurement released". Chartered Institute of Architectural Technology. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  26. Edgar, Laura (7 August 2019). "Guidance issued for measuring land". The Planner.
  27. "Why you should go to Green Sky Thinking". Architects' Journal. 20 April 2016.
  28. "Honorary and Visiting Academics". The Bartlett School of Planning, UCL. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  29. "Editorial Board - Journal of Regeneration and Renewal". Henry Stewart Publications.
  30. Edgar, Laura (23 October 2015). "London Society inaugurates APPG for London's Planning and Built Environment". The Planner. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  31. "Register Of All-Party Parliamentary Groups". UK Parliament. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  32. "Colliers' Jonathan Manns wins RICS Young Surveyor of the Year award | netMAGmedia Ltd". www.buildingconstructiondesign.co.uk. 22 November 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  33. "Advisory Board and Council". Patchwork Foundation. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  34. "Thanks". Long Live Southbank. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
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