Making Future Plans: in Berwick upon Tweed (RDF17/ART/CRAWSHAW)

Through practice-based research (in line with IDEATE), the aim of this studentship is to re-embody planning knowledge in support of liveability. Across the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, we no longer understand knowledge as a mirror onto nature for society but as continually in the making among inhabitants amidst landscapes. But from this position, how can we plan for the future? Planning activities involve encounters between experiential and systematised forms of knowledge. When externalised into objects or documents recent research argues that knowledge in professional planning is ‘un-embodied’: disconnected from the planner-person engaged in activities with people and materials. To help restore the connection, this studentship will introduce a creative practice approach to the theory and practice of planning.

Art and design projects are recognised parts of the planner’s portfolio, and are often incorporated into strategies to relieve post-industrial decline. Yet in planning and urban/rural studies, works of art, architecture and design tend to be regarded as objects, comprising finished works that answer to social and economic targets, rather than in their making, as critical ingredients of the planning process itself. As the process that brings artefacts into being, ‘making’ combines the generative currents of materials with the sensory awareness of practitioners. Developing from an existing research partnership with Northumberland County Council Planning and Heritage Officers, this research will make a novel contribution to planning knowledge as produced through the human and non-human relationships of making.

Eligibility and How to Apply
Please note eligibility requirement:
• Academic excellence of the proposed student i.e. 2:1 (or equivalent GPA from non-UK universities [preference for 1st class honours]); or a Masters (preference for Merit or above); or APEL evidence of substantial practitioner achievement.
• Appropriate IELTS score, if required (evidence required by 1 August 2017).

For further details of how to apply, entry requirements and the application form, see
https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/research/postgraduate-research-degrees/how-to-apply/

Please ensure you quote the advert reference above on your application form.
Deadline for applications: 20 January 2017
Start Date: 2 October 2017

Northumbria University is an equal opportunities provider and in welcoming applications for studentships from all sectors of the community we strongly encourage applications from women and under-represented groups.