Sarah Crowe is a Chareterd Town Planner, Chartered Manager, Recognised Practitioner in Urban Design and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Sarah's work bridges urban planning, placemaking and community engagement, exploring how blue green infrastructure and participatory planning can create more liveable, inclusive and climate-resilient places.

Drawing on professional experience across local government, housing and public agencies, Sarah connects policy, practice and pedagogy to advance equitable, place-based approaches to regeneration. Her research and teaching champion co-design, creativity and sustainability as catalysts for innovation in planning education and professional practice.

Professional Expertise

Before joining academia, Sarah gained extensive experience in regeneration, placemaking, spatial and environmental planning, economic development and community engagement. She has worked with local authorities, housing providers and public agencies across Scotland and England, leading place-based projects that combined community priorities with environmental improvement and economic growth.

Drawing on her professional experience, Sarah connects theory with practice in her teaching to prepare students for the real-world challenges of planning. As a Chartered Town Planner and Chartered Manager, she is committed to strengthening collaboration between academia, industry and policy to create more inclusive, resilient and liveable places.

Qualifications

Sarah is currently in the final stages of a PhD in which she investigates how placemaking and blue green infrastructure can create more liveable, flood resilient urban environments. Her research was funded by the prestigious Hydro Nation Scholars Programme, which supports research into water-related projects in Scotland, contributing to the Scottish Government's Hydro Nation strategy.

Sarah holds the following qualifications:

MSc - Spatial Planning with Urban Conservation

MA (hons) - Cities, Culture and Regeneration

PG Cert - Higher Academic Practice

Chartered Management Institute Level 7 - Strategic Management and Leadership

BA (hons) Archaeology and English

Professional Recognition 

• Chartered Town Planner (MRTPI)

• Recognised Practitioner in Urban Design (Urban Design Group)

• Chartered Manager (CMgr MCMI)

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

• Certified Lego® Serious Play® Facilitator 

Engagement and Leadership within the Planning Profession

Sarah provides leadership and sector expertise through her active participation in the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).  She has served on the Lifelong Learning and Education Committee, supporting the development of planning education and continuous professional development. She is currently a member of the Scottish Policy Sub-Committee, contributing to the development of planning policy in Scotland and sits on the Partnerships and Accreditation Panel, helping to maintain and enhance standards in accredited planning education programmes. These roles reflect her commitment to shaping both the academic and professional dimensions of the planning discipline.

External Positions

 Blue Green Infrastructure Integration

Through her doctoral research, Sarah explores how blue green infrastructure (BGI) can function as a catalyst to enhance liveability and flood resilience in urban environments. She examines not only its environmental role in climate adaptation but also its potential to deliver social, economic and wellbeing benefits when understood as a community asset. Her work contributes to wider conversations on nature based solutions, infrastructure equity and the integration of environmental planning into everyday urban life.

Participatory Planning and Community Engagement

A strong advocate for inclusive planning practice, Sarah develops and delivers participatory engagement processes that empower communities to meaningfully influence change. She uses hands-on, creative tools, such as Lego® and craft materials, to demystify planning and urban design concepts and encourage genuine dialogue between residents, professionals and policymakers. Sarah's methods foreground accessibility, co-production and trust-building as foundations for equitable planning outcomes.

Planning Policy and Practice

Informed by experience across local government, housing associations and public sector agencies, Sarah investigates how planning policy is shaped, implemented and experienced at different scales. Her work focuses on aligning statutory planning processes with local engagement, cross-sector collaboration and place-based priorities. She is particularly interested in how policy frameworks can support more just and responsive approaches to regeneration.

Placemaking and Urban Regeneration

Drawing on her expertise in placemaking, urban design and regeneration, Sarah takes a place-based, community-oriented approach to shaping urban environments. Her work explores how collaborative and participatory methods, especially visual and creative techniques, can foster civic pride, reflect local identity and support more inclusive and equitable forms of regeneration. Sarah views placemaking as a cultural and social process, grounded in lived experience, rather than solely a matter of physical design.

Sarah aims to advance research at the intersection of participatory planning and blue green infrastructure, focusing on how co-designed approaches can enhance liveability, climate resilience, community wellbeing and equitable urban development.

Sarah is also interested in the pedagogy of planning, exploring innovative teaching methods to equip the next generation of planners with the skills to engage communities, design resilient infrastructure and integrate environmental and social considerations into policy and practice. Her future work seeks to bridge academic research, professional planning, community engagement and teaching innovation to create resilient, inclusive and liveable places.

Sarah is module leader for the following modules, undertaking module design, delivery and assessment.

Blue and Green Space Design: Explores the principles and practices of designing sustainable urban and rural spaces that integrate natural elements to enhance environmental quality and community wellbeing.

Planning, Policy and Practice: Provides an understanding of the frameworks and processes involved in spatial planning, policy development and the practical application of planning principles.

Urban Regeneration and Placemaking: Focuses on strategies for revitalising urban areas, fostering community engagement and creating meaningful public spaces that reflect local identities.

Governance and Political Processes: Examines the structures and dynamics of governance in planning, including the roles of various stakeholders and the impact of political processes on planning decisions.

Work-Based Learning 1: Offers students practical experience in planning-related environments, bridging academic knowledge with real-world applications to enhance employability.

Other module involvement:

Introduction to Planning, Policy and Practice: Designs and delivers module lectures.

Dissertation supervision: Sarah also guides students through independent research projects, supporting methodology, analysis and the production of a high-quality dissertation.

Other Teaching Experience:

Prior to her appointment at UWS, Sarah held teaching roles at the University of Dundee, contributing to both undergraduate and postgraduate education in human geography and urban conservation.

Sarah is interested in collaborating with private-sector companies that work in urban planning, urban design and sustainability, applying research on participatory planning, blue green infrastructure and liveability in real-world projects. This includes consultancies such as AECOM, Arup, WSP, Atkins, Jacobs and LDA design, as well as local and regional SMEs.

Sarah is interested in partnering with local authorities, NGOs and research institutes to co-produce solutions that enhance community wellbeing, liveability and climate resilience. This includes organisations such as SEPA, NatureScot, Green Action Trust and Sustrans, as well as universities and research institutes engaged in participatory planning and nature based solutions.