Mark Baker

Responsibilities

Senior Lecturer in Planning Policy & Practice.

Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Director of Master of Town & Country Planning (MTCP)

 

Mark is a chartered town planner with previous professional experience in local government (Durham County Council) and two different Government Offices (GO-NE and GO-NW) as well as that of a lecturer at Newcastle and Manchester Universities. He has well-developed research interests in regional and strategic planning; central-local relations and the plan-making process; and development plan and development control procedures. His current research activities include work on stakeholder involvement in the RPG process (sponsored by ODPM / TCPA), the use of environmental and sustainability appraisal within development plans (sponsored by ESRC) and the future of sub-regional planning in England (for CPRE). He was the project manager and co-director of a recent DETR sponsored research project on the operation and effectiveness of the English structure planning process. He has been involved in a number of other research projects, sponsored by a range of organisations including the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the North West Regional Association, the Town and Country Planning Association and DTLR. He is currently Chair of the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA)'s Regional Planning Task Team and is a member of TCPA's Policy Council and a co-opted member of the Regional Studies Association (RSA)'s Board.

The Future of Sub-Regional Planning (with P. Roberts, University of Liverpool). Funded by the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) (2002-03).

The Effect of Strategic Environmental Assessment on Development Plans (with C. Wood, M. Short, J. Carter and C. Jones). Funded by ESRC (2001-03).

Future Sub-Regional Planning Arrangements (with P. Roberts, University of Liverpool). Funded by the County Surveyors' Society (2002).

Stakeholder Involvement in the Regional Planning Guidance (RPG) Process (with the Town and Country Planning Association). Part funded by ODPM (2001-03).

The People: Where will they work? Contribution on the North West Region (with C. Wong & N. Gallent) as part of TCPA Research project on the changing geography of jobs. (1999).

Examination of the Operation and Effectiveness of the Structure Planning Process (Joint-Director of a project involving staff at Manchester, Newcastle and Dundee Universities). Funded by DETR (1997-98).

Regionalism, Devolution and Social Housing (with colleagues at Newcastle University). Funded by Joseph Rowntree Foundation / National Housing Forum. (1997-98).

Central Government Intervention in the Plan-Making Process. Funded by Manchester University (Faculty of Arts). (1996-97)
The Regional Economy of the Trans-Pennine Corridor (with M. Hebbert). Funded by North West Regional Assembly, North West Partnership & the European Union. (1995-96).

Baker, M. and Wong, C. (1997) Planning for housing land in the English regions: a critique of household projections and regional planning guidance mechanisms, Environment & planning C, 15: 73-87.

Cameron, S., Baker, M., Bevan, M., Hull, A. and Williams, R. (1998) Regionalism, Devolution and Social Housing. National Housing Forum, London.

Baker, M. (1998) Planning for the English regions: a review of the Secretary of State's regional planning guidance. Planning Practice & Research, 13 (2): 153-169.

Gallent, N., Baker, M. and Wong, C. (1998) Securing housing choice: New opportunities for the UK planning system. Housing Studies, 13 (3): 425-438.

Baker, M. (1999) Intervention or interference? Central government involvement in the plan-making process in six English regions. Town Planning Review, 70(1).

Baker, M., Deas, I. And Wong, C. (1999) Obscure ritual or administrative luxury? Integrating strategic planning and regional development. Environment and Planning B, 26: 763-782.

Baker, M. and Roberts, P. (1999) Examination of the Operation and Effectiveness of the Structure Planning Process. DETR, London.

Wong, C., Gallent, N. and Baker, M. (1999) The geography of employment in the North West. In The People: Where Will They Work: The Geography of Jobs. Town and Country Planning Association, London.

Baker, M. (2000) The development planning process in six English regions. In Shaw, D., Roberts, P. and Walsh, J. (eds) Regional Planning & Development in Europe, Ashgate, Aldershot.

Baker, M. (2001) "Some reflections on strategic planning processes in three urban regions". Planning Theory and Practice, vol. 2(2), pp 230 - 237.

Baker, M. (2001) "Government Offices for the Regions and Regional Planning". In Marshall T, Glasson, J and Wilson, E. (eds), Contemporary Issues in Regional Planning, Ashgate, Basingstoke, pp. 61-78.

Baker, M. (2002) "Developing institutional capacity at the regional level: the development of a coastal forum in the north west of England". Environmental Planning & Management, 45(5), pp. 691-713.

Carter, J., Wood, C. and Baker, M. (2003) "The environmental appraisal of National Park Management Plans in England and Wales". Environmental Planning and Management, 46(2), pp. 271-290.

Carter, J., Wood, C. and Baker, M. (forthcoming) "Structure plan appraisal and the SEA Directive". Town Planning Review.

Short, M., Carter, J., Baker, M., Jones, C. and Wood, C. (forthcoming) "Current practice in the strategic environmental assessment of development plans in England" Regional Studies.