Guest editorial

• Author: Francis Sheridan King
• Position: Law School, University of Westminster, London, UK
• Pages: 2-3

Guest editorial

Collective approaches to change: from “challenging ownership” and

beyond

This Special Issue of the International Journal of Law in the Built Environment was

originally proposed to reect the change of direction of the “Challenging Ownership:

Meanings, Space and Identity” stream at the annual Socio-Legal Studies Association

(SLSA) conference. The decision of the SLSA to refresh the conference streams and

themes, and to reissue its call for stream titles, allowed the conveners an opportunity to

revisit their subject areas and objectives. This resulted in the proposal of a newly titled

“Property, People, Power and Place” stream for the 2017 conference. This also aligned

with some changes to the convenership of the stream, with Penny English retiring from

the team, and Jill Dickinson and Vicky Heap joining myself and Sarah Blandy as

conveners of the new stream.

While this change was signicant in its context, it was reective of a broader year of

change; for me personally but also professionally, as University life is undergoing major

changes, and politically our post-Brexit future is far from certain. This has led me to

reect that in times of personal change or transition, we turn to friends and family for

support, just as the progression from “Challenging Ownership” to “Property, People,

Power and Place” required communication and support from the invested conveners.

These changes have been implemented with accord, assistance and amicability;

something that is not always evident or even possible in a professional or political

context. Unfortunately, the aforementioned support mechanisms are harder to

implement in a scaled-up model that forfeits choice and equality.

Any challenge to ownership obviously requires similar forms of change, transition

and a kickback against the status quo, but these changes can make people feel adrift,

overwhelm them and make them feel disconnected from their reality and/or others

around them. It becomes even more important during these moments to make

connections with others, nd support networks and articulate new possibilities. As

Dumbledore would put it; “We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are

divided”. Professionally and politically, the changes that we face are truly

overwhelming at times, but the opportunities for a shared voice must be found.

This Special Issue provides an exciting opportunity to see a range of international

and collaborative approaches to our common purpose; the challenge of concepts of

ownership through analyses of space, meaning of ownership, or identity. The Issue

commences with Mick Strack’s consideration of native rights to land in New Zealand

and the dichotomy between Maori and State recognitions of property rights in land and

rivers. This theme is further developed in Emily Walsh’s exploration of the public/

private land use control systems in the UK and the USA and the relationship between

private citizen and State.

The rst of the collaborative pieces in the issue sees Tilak Ginige, Sophie Childs and

Hannah Pateman analyse the recent cases of deliberate concealment of planning

breaches in the UK, and consider the implications for UK planning law under the Town

and Country Planning Act 1990. The second collaborative piece by Héctor Simón

Moreno, Núria Lambea Llop and Rosa Maria Garcia Teruel addresses the possibility of

IJLBE

9,1

2

InternationalJournal of Law in the

BuiltEnvironment

Vol.9 No. 1, 2017

pp.2-3

©Emerald Publishing Limited

1756-1450

DOI 10.1108/IJLBE-02-2017-0008