Help shape the future of planning in England by taking part in the 'Pluralism in Place survey, led by LSE researchers Liz Williams and Meg Hennessy exploring value pluralism in the built environment and institutionalize a value(s)-based approach to planning governance. 

As Labour embarks on its ambitious planning reform agenda, placing economic growth at the heart of its mission, the planning system has been highlighted as both the lever for transformative change and the main obstacle to progress. While reforms have often focused on speeding up processes or cutting red tape, in our research we argue that a deeper cultural transformation is also needed — one that acknowledges the values influencing decision-making in the built environment.

This forms the basis of our latest project, Pluralism in Place, developed following the recent publication of our policy report Planning with Purpose: A Values-Based Approach to Planning Reform. Through this work, we ask: How can we better manage value pluralism in the planning system? And how we might institutionalise a value(s)-based approach to planning governance?

Planning is inherently value-laden. It is where decisions about people, place, and planet converge. Indeed, planning's complexity stems not only from its bureaucratic machinery but also from the competing values circulating within the system. Balancing trade-offs is at the heart of planning policy and practice — between housing provision and environmental protection, speed and democratic engagement, or short-term gains and long-term resilience. This balancing act is one of planning’s biggest challenges, but it is also its greatest opportunity area.

How diverse values are balanced and interpreted shapes the places where we live and work. Therefore, the planning system has enormous potential as a mechanism for collective engagement with place-based challenges across England. Understanding what really matters to people and embracing a multitude of values can help to build richer, more inclusive and sustainable places.

However, so often the planning system is adversarial and its stakeholders defensive as different values are pitted against each other. These tensions continuously tug at what planning should deliver and how – the heated dialogue regarding the Planning and Infrastructure Bill is demonstrative of this fact. So how do we better negotiate value pluralism to unlock more meaningful and productive collaboration in the built environment?

Fostering transparent decision-making processes around trade-offs can strengthen trust and create clarity about what is at stake for various actors. Value-based tools are frameworks or methodologies that support decision-making by enabling policymakers and practitioners to define and assess what principles they wish to promote or to measure what types of value (economic, social, environmental, cultural, etc.) are being created across a project lifecycle.

Both value frameworks, such as the New London Agenda, and value measurement tools, such as the TOM Social Value System,  offer promising solutions to navigate value pluralism in the built environment. Our research aims to catalogue and critically assess the value frameworks and measurement tools currently used within England’s planning and development sector to better understand how they influence practice:

· How practitioners navigate multiple value-based tools in their work;

· Whether these tools support or hinder decision-making;

· Where their limitations lie – particularly when it comes to data-driven tools.

This project is not just about building better tools — it's about creating the conditions for a shared value culture in the planning system. To support this research, tell us about your experience navigating value-based tools by taking part in our survey. It takes approximately 10 minutes to complete, and all participants will be entered into a draw to win a £100 AllforOne gift card.