The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has published their Economic Development Policy Briefing, warning of the effects of automation on employment
AI in construction planning is bringing automation to processes in planning and employment.
While this streamlines things, the briefing also warns that this will reduce the number of available jobs.
The future will be more difficult to predict
This automation and reduction of conventional jobs will leave planning authorities in a position where it is harder to predict future employment levels and associated economic value.
This, in turn, will make it difficult to plan proactively for emerging sectors with limited historical data. The RTPI economic briefing further warns that the current Economic Needs Assessment (ENA) guidance that Local Planning Authorities use in their land allocation is outdated, having last been updated in 2019, and therefore employment predictions based on this guidance do not reflect current reality.
The RTPI is calling for two measures
In light of these predicted issues, the RTPI is calling for two things:
- Integration of plans and strategies: Government should establish a National Spatial Framework bringing together spatial elements of the Industrial Strategy and the 10-year Infrastructure Strategy, to support the preparations of Spatial Development Strategies (SDSs) and Local Growth Plans. Emerging combined authorities should use SDSs as spatial investment strategies to coordinate housing, infrastructure and industrial growth across sub-regional economies.
- Ensure regional collaboration to better support industrial clusters: Effective inter-authority coordination is crucial for emerging sectors such as AI, advanced manufacturing and data centres, which are increasing demand for energy and water infrastructure. Joint working arrangements should support industrial clusters that span multiple strategic authorities, backed by funding for strategic site accelerators and infrastructure delivery. This would support the Government’s wider growth and infrastructure ambitions as well as forthcoming legislation.
Robbie Calvert, head of policy and public affairs at the RTPI, said: “Since coming into power, the Government has made economic development and planning reform a central focus of its growth mission.
“But if the government wants planning to actively support AI, advanced manufacturing and clean technologies while predicting and shaping the employment centres of local areas, planners need clearer tools, better data and updated guidance to unlock growth sectors.”
The full Economic Development Policy Briefing can be read here.
Writing for PBC Today in February, Ben Goodwin, director of policy & public affairs at the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA), gave an update on the CECA’s stance on AI in the construction industry.
Ben wrote: “Everything around AI is moving at a bewildering pace – it seems just yesterday that most of us were curious to try the first iterations of Large Language Models (LLMs), while now they are integrated into our everyday lives, from search engines to online shopping and e-mail. So, it is worth asking: how much has changed since CECA published the UK construction industry’s first major report on the subject?
“Since this time last year, the policy, regulatory, and technological landscape has continued to evolve rapidly. The UK Government has significantly expanded its ambitions for AI as a driver of economic growth and public sector reform, positioning it as a core pillar of its industrial strategy, through initiatives such as the AI Opportunities Action Plan and large-scale investment in national compute capacity, including the Isambard-AI supercomputer and related AI Growth Zones.”
Read Ben’s full thoughts here.
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