Commonwealth Association of Planners
Advancing professional planning globally
BENEFITS OF JOINING
CAP represents the interests of over 40,000 planners in more than 30 countries across the Commonwealth. Our Mission is the advancement of urban and regional planning across the Commonwealth to meet the challenges of urbanisation and the sustainable development of human settlements.
If you belong to your national planning
organisation and they are a CAP
MEMBER, you also derive the
benefits of membership!
CAP’s members are the national planning bodies of Commonwealth countries and we also assist in Commonwealth countries without national planning bodies. Through our work as planners we seek to achieve an effective contribution to the well-being of society and the creation of more sustainable settlements and adequate shelter for all.
Meeting the challenges - together
Given the Commonwealth’s total population of 2.6 billion citizens, 60% of whom are under the age of 30, working together to meet the challenges of urbanisation and sustainable development of human settlements makes sense.
We aim to strengthen the planning profession in the Commonwealth through knowledge sharing, education, research, collaboration with other professionals and the dissemination of good practice.
CAP seeks to focus and develop the skills of urban and regional planners across the Commonwealth. We hold conferences where ideas and practical experiences can be shared and compared.
CAP has links with its members, with other professional associations, and with non-governmental organisations involved in the struggle to improve human settlements, to alleviate poverty and to move towards sustainable development. CAP welcomes opportunities to participate in activities which bring together planners and communities and /or other professionals.
Our Work Programme
Our work programme addresses the biggest challenges faced by Commonwealth planners including climate change, health, capacity building, food security, planning education, resilience and gender.Through these initiatives and the promotion of improved forms of participatory governance and new approaches to urban planning we aim to help achieve a more sustainable future for all.These challenges are often made worse by planning resources being very limited particularly in those countries experiencing the most rapid urban growth; also in many smaller countries planning education is virtually nonexistent. CAP provides an opportunity for planners across the Commonwealth to share experiences and work together to help tackle these and other issues.
Much of the work is undertaken on a voluntary basis but we also receive funding for specific projects from a number of sources including the Commonwealth Foundation and UN Habitat.
CAP is unique among international planning organisations in having direct access to Commonwealth Governments at the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings (CHOGM) and parallel Commonwealth Peoples’ Forums. Through active engagement in these events CAP has successfully ensured that the value of planning is recognised at the highest levels in Commonwealth Governments.
CAP also has a Women in Planning network and a Young Planners network and plays a leading role in developing the planning profession and planners throughout the countries of the Commonwealth.