The French and British Planning Studies Group was founded in 1998, initially by British academics who had undertaken research in France.  Very soon after its foundation it developed into a dialogue between French and British academics undertaking research in the other country, which allowed in-depth discussion based on the very extensive knowledge of its members.  In the first instance the Group had no other objective than to provide what proved to be an invaluable meeting point for the exchange of ideas at its biannual meetings.  From these discussions, however, arose the possibility of joint publications, and the Group, led by Philip Booth, has been instrumental in producing two books, both of which have appeared in both English and French, and a special edition of Town Planning Review on European Capitals of Culture (January 2011). In the second of the two books, Spatial Planning Systems of Britain and France (Booth et al. 2007) each chapter was co-authored by a French and British member of the Group.

The group currently gathers more than 50 members, mostly from Britain and France. A dedicated steering group, composed of Lauren Andres (University of Birmingham), Elsa Vivant (Université Paris-Est), Florine Ballif (Université Paris-Est), Philip Booth (University of Sheffield), Mike Devereux (University of the West of England), Olivier Sykes (University of Liverpool), is responsible for the management of the group.  Since 2005 it has been formally constituted as a sub-group of the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) and will shortly have a web-page on the new AESOP site.  This has enabled the Group to tap into a larger European audience and it has had a presence at the annual AESOP congresses since 2004.

Future activities include a set of seminars on the knowledge economy (April 2012- Lille) and transport planning (May and October 2012 in Liverpool and Paris) and a summer school in 2013 on comparative research in France and in the UK.

Contact & Coordination: Dr. Lauren Andres, University of Birmingham, L.Andres@bham.ac.uk