University News Last updated 14 November 2023
Birmingham City University’s iconic STEAMhouse was the setting for an event to promote gender equality in the planning industry.
Urban planners from the public and private sector spoke to students from BCU at a West Midlands branch meeting of Women in Planning (WIP).
“It is fundamental to rebalance the planning profession, where women and ethnic minorities tend to be underrepresented,” said event organiser Dr Silvia Gullino, an Associate Professor in City Making at BCU and Course Leader for the MPlan/BSc Property Development and Planning.
“Cities reflect the societies that constructed them. The lack of inclusivity in the profession influences inequalities and affects how cities are designed and planned.”
Speaking at the event were Ellie Liggins-Hughes and Jenny Bennett, Town and Transport Planners with the Pegasus Group, Charis Blythe, a Principal Development Planner with Birmingham City Council, and Professor Claudia Carter and Dr Gullino, lecturers and course leaders within BCU’s College of Built Environment.
For more information about WIP, visit their website: https://www.womeninplanning.org/
For more information on the BCU urban planning provision, visit the website: https://www.bcu.ac.uk/courses/planning-built-environments-ma-2024-25