Last week I visited Qatar. I had been invited to chair a discussion on how public policy affects the places we create. The forum was an international jamboree called the Earthna Summit. The website was prolix. We were gathering to ‘explore how both traditional knowledge and innovation approaches can inform modern sustainability, shaping a more resilient and inclusive future.’ We were going to consider ‘hot and arid environments.’ And we were to focus on how they deploy their ‘rich cultural heritage and unique ecosystems.’

In practice this meant that rather than being within a British conversation about housebuilding, new towns and planning reform I was within a global conversation about the degradation of the countryside and despoilation of traditional towns, about the loss of local culture, craft and dignity and the ubiquitous use of imported, placeless and carbon-guzzling steel, aluminium and breeze blocks in place of locally made bricks, traditional patterns and indigenous autonomy.

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