Those who have heard me speak on why I became a planner know that a trip to Nepal when I was 11 years old was pivotal. Growing up, my dad would take us on holidays off the beaten track, spending time with local people—understanding how they lived and enabling us to experience the sights, smells, and landscapes of other cultures.

These trips had a profound impact on me. They shaped the way I saw the world, ignited my love of human geography, and ultimately led me down the path of social sustainability in which I work today.

Education has been a somewhat slow evolver in a world that is rapidly changing. Delivery of education and schools is tied up in government processes and embedded practices.

In this piece I've explored how we as social planners and urban designers can have some influence in this space, but ultimately there is a big and complex web that is education and its future.

Place is inextricably linked to longevity, and a wellbeing mindset is a crucial part of the longevity puzzle. As planners, human geographers, stakeholder engagement experts, and government officials we have a significant role to play to apply our knowledge to planning our cities, regions and communities for the longevity and wellbeing of older people.

Considering the experiences of all people, and being inclusive in the way we plan and design is essential. We need to not just plan for ourselves and our own preferences, but think about all people, and include them in the design process from the start. If we don’t design inclusively, we are designing for a narrow portion of the population and further entrenching  our inherent biases and the status quo. 

Planning and designing better places includes designing for neurodiversity, and is an important step to a more inclusive and considerate world.