Planning & Development Strategy
Planning, policy, governance and place-based strategies that connect vision, priorities and delivery.
DR SARAH CROWE
Planning | Regeneration | Placemaking | Community Engagement | Climate Resilience | Research
Planning, regeneration and place expertise for complex places and projects.
I help public, community and built environment organisations tackle complex place-based challenges. I develop strategies, shape projects and bring people and partners together to create more sustainable, inclusive and resilient places.
My work brings together planning, placemaking, regeneration, community engagement and climate resilience. I work across the full journey from understanding places and identifying opportunities, to developing strategies, building shared priorities and turning ideas into deliverable projects.
I combine practical experience of planning and regeneration delivery with research-informed approaches, helping organisations navigate complexity, connect evidence with local knowledge, and move from ambition to action.
Areas of Expertise
Planning, Policy & Place-Based Change
Supporting planning, policy development and place-based strategies that connect community priorities, governance and practical delivery to create more sustainable, inclusive and resilient places.
Regeneration & Placemaking
Developing regeneration and placemaking approaches for neighbourhoods, town centres and communities, responding to their character, identity and distinctive qualities alongside contemporary planning, investment and delivery priorities.
Climate Resilience & Blue Green Infrastructure
Applying blue green infrastructure, Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) and nature-based solutions to support climate adaptation, flood resilience, biodiversity and more liveable urban environments.
Community Engagement & Participatory Planning
Designing and facilitating inclusive engagement processes that enable communities, stakeholders and organisations to contribute local knowledge, share ideas and shape planning and regeneration.
Research, Evaluation & Practice
Applying research and evidence to planning, placemaking and blue green infrastructure, with a focus on liveable, inclusive and climate-resilient places.
Training, Workshops & Facilitation
Training, workshops and creative facilitation using approaches such as LEGO® Serious Play®, participatory planning and serious games.
Services
My work brings together planning, regeneration, placemaking, community engagement and climate resilience. I draw on practical experience, research and participatory approaches to help organisations understand complex challenges, develop effective strategies and move from ideas to action.
Regeneration & Neighbourhood Renewal
Supporting regeneration, neighbourhood renewal and community-led change, grounded in an understanding of place character and identity.
Placemaking & Community Engagement
Participatory planning, co-design and creative engagement approaches that help communities and stakeholders shape better places.
Climate Resilience & Blue Green Infrastructure
Nature-based solutions, Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD), blue green infrastructure and approaches that support climate adaptation and resilient places.
Research & Knowledge Exchange
Applied research, evaluation and knowledge exchange that bring evidence into planning, policy and practice.
Facilitation, Training & Speaking
Workshops, professional learning and creative facilitation using approaches including LEGO® Serious Play®, Planning for Real® and serious games.
Explore how I can support your project, organisation or community.
Explore ServicesFeatured Projects and Research
Participatory Placemaking, Water Sensitive Urban Design & Blue Green Infrastructure
International research exploring how participatory placemaking and blue green infrastructure support more equitable, liveable and climate-resilient places.
Explore Research →Creative Community Engagement
Developing and facilitating participatory planning methods including Planning for Real®, co-design workshops, participatory mapping and serious games.
Explore Engagement →Planning Practice & Implementation
Experience translating planning policy into regeneration, partnership working and implementation across local government, professional practice and academia.
Explore Practice →Featured Publications & Resources
Publications
Peer-reviewed research on water sensitive urban design, blue green infrastructure, participatory planning, placemaking, implementation and planning education.
View Publications →Featured Resources
Coming soon!Latest News & Insights
News, publications and reflections from my research, professional practice and collaborations.
September 2026
What could local government reform mean for planning?
Scotland’s proposed reform of local governance raises an important question for planning: how do we make decisions at the right scale while keeping local knowledge and community voices at the heart of place-making?
Read more → August 2026
Joining the Highland Adapts Advisory Panel
Joining the Highland Adapts Advisory Panel for 2026–2027, contributing planning and place-based expertise to work focused on building a more climate-resilient Highland.
Read more →
July 2026
Joining the Eklipse Expert Working Group
Joining an international expert group exploring how games and game-based approaches can strengthen the science–policy interface.
Read more →