Seasons Greetings!
Looking back over 2025, and forward to 2026.
A big thank you to you all for your interest and support over the past year.
My third year on Substack is almost up. I continue to marvel at the insights of many writers I read on here about urban issues, the idea of place and growing stronger communities. The common ground and the striking differences from one country and one city to another are particularly fascinating.
I can only hope that readers are finding my pieces on Policies for Places interesting and useful too. My main interests over the year have been around the understanding of place and exploring assumptions about terms and social processes within places which are often, it seems to me, used very glibly in urban and community planning.
I have also written pieces about specific initiatives and projects to revive and strengthen cities and regions in Scotland where I am based, and elsewhere in the UK.
In case you missed them, or might like to re-read them, here are a selection of my most viewed posts of 2025.
On place:
Neighbors and Strangers: The sociology of proximity
Fourth Places and the urban design challenge
'Nearness' and social cohesion
On local initiatives:
What a difference a train makes
Paisley's Pattern for Culture-based Development
So here’s to 2026.
There are more ideas for future pieces already on the stocks.
Subscriptions to Policies for Places will remain free, and no paywalls.
Please let me know of place-based topics you would be interested for me to explore.
And please recommend Policies for Places to your friends and colleagues.
Many thanks, and all good wishes for the New Year,
John Tibbitt