Dear colleagues,
Cardiff University has recently published restructuring proposals that would severely impact on the School of Geography and Planning. We would like to ask planners, friends, colleagues of many years to sign the letter we have drafted below. The letter will be published on major British newspapers and delivered to the University Executive Board.
If you are happy to support us by adding your name as a signatory, please email Francesca Sartorio at SartorioF[at]cf.ac.uk with your titles, name and affiliation as a matter of urgency.
Sirs,
Cardiff University’s proposal to absorb the School of Geography and Planning into a generic social science department after 59 years will shatter its global identity as a centre for internationally renowned research in sustainability and the environment. As a QS 100 ranked school, uniquely integrating expertise in planning, human geography and urban design, the School combines world-class interdisciplinarity, and fulfils the dual goals of excellence in teaching, and problem-oriented, high-quality research. The proposal will diminish the School’s profile as a centre for innovative research and debates on resilient cities, sustainable food systems, and climate action in both the developed and developing worlds. The move will undermine the School’s global role in training professional planners when planning systems are high on the political agendas in many countries.
The catastrophic loss of School identity, and brutal reductions in staff numbers proposed, will undermine the profile of globally important research, destroy students’ confidence in their chosen field of study, and decimate these disciplines at Cardiff. Identity and viability are two sides of the same coin. The School’s outreach to schools and communities in Cardiff, Wales and internationally is crucial for building a generation of environmentally aware young people. We strongly urge the University to reconsider these highly damaging proposals to a globally renowned centre of excellence.
