RESPONSES RECEIVED FROM THE SURVEY
What are the most important challenges facing the built environment? • Lack of effective built environment legislation, especially poor spatial planning together with outdated building regulations, poorly implemented and enforced. • Urban sprawl, poor public transport and lack of investment in infrastructure • Housing and land shortages coupled with affordability. • Sustainability, including climate change, climate adaptation and resilience
What are the most important challenges facing architectural education in your country? • Lack of education provision, insufficient teaching staff coupled with the high cost of education at home and abroad. • High student/teacher ratios, poorly funded faculties. • Balancing time for teaching design with the increasing focus on technology. • Building stronger links between education and practice.
What are the most important challenges facing the profession? • Corruption, public procurement practices, low fees and a reliance on design and build. • Achieving design quality in the face of strong development pressures combined with poor construction technology. • Lack of opportunity for young architects and small practices, aggravated by cross border trading practices and an influx of large international firms. • Lack of respect/recognition for the profession caused partly by an inability to demonstrate its value coupled with weak regulation of the profession in some countries.
Changes in salaries, working hours and conditions over the past ten years? • Working conditions appear to have improved marginally but with long working hours and tight programmes despite advances in technology. • Salaries appear to have flat-lined or marginally declined over the period in a number of countries. • There appear to be better opportunities for women than there were 10 years ago.
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Planning for Rapid Urbanisation