*Celebrating Spatial Planning at TU Delft: 2008-2019. Edited by Stead, Bracken, Rooij & Rocco

102 Spatial Planning & Strategy
Room mate and head of
department
ANDREAS FAUDI, EMERITUS PROFESSOR OF SPATIAL PLANNING
A
widely-read source for practitioners
and scholars alike used
to be – maybe still is – “Town and
Country Planning in the UK”. Sounding
somewhat antiquated, because the
term refers to legislation passed in
1909, it is, nonetheless, presently in
its 15th edition. This book, authored in
1964 by Barry Cullingworth (1929-2005),
has been, since 1994, co-authored by
Vincent Nadin. My 14th edition (see
figure) I owe to him. Having discovered
that I had an older edition which he
missed from his collection, he suggested
– and I gladly agreed to – a swap.
This was when we had become roommates,
when Vincent was, I believe, on
sabbatical from the University of the
West of England (Bristol) at OTB and
shared a room with me (I was the parttime
research professor at the time).
We had met previously on the premises
of the OECD in Paris. The paper
I presented there got into “Planning
Practice and Research”, the journal for
which Vincent was – and still is – editor-in-chief.
Publishing in this journal
turned out to be a very good idea: that
paper is still my most widely cited paper.
Vincent had also arranged my oneand-only
visit to Bristol and helped me
advising Steffi Dühr on her PhD.
About our time as roommates I recall
three things. First, there was Vincent’s
extensive travelling. Secondly, there
were, sometimes intense, discussions,
with me challenging territorialism and
him pointing out the lasting importance
of legitimate authority. Thirdly,
I recall him considering applying for a
Chair at Bouwkunde, which he eventually
did, and with success. That he got
the Chair was no big surprise, but that
he was to take on the responsibilities
of chairing a department was.
Little did I know that I, in my lowly
capacity as a visiting researcher
still going on about “The Poverty of
Territorialism” would eventually join
this Department of Urbanism. Vincent
heartily supported this move which, in
any case for me, has worked out very
well. From my position on the margins,
I perceive a lively, multi-cultural,
multi-lingual, dynamic, and, yes, happy
community. Making a point of selectively
attending open lunches, lectures,
seminars, and, yes, business meetings,
I do not uncover the hidden agendas
so common in organisations like
this. Vincent is not always visible – he
maintains his pattern of foreign travel
and engagements – but he is there,
backing initiatives, raising issues, and
conveying messages from the higher
echelons (where, I am sure, he stands
up for Urbanism). This style of leadership
seems to suit the Department and
is – indeed, is meant to be – a complement
to both.