For over three decades, Carley Pennink dedicated her career to IHS, shaping generations of urban professionals and contributing to projects across Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. From teaching and research to international capacity building, her journey reflects the evolution of the institute and emerging urban topics around the world. Although she officially retired last summer, Carley remains professionally connected to IHS as an independent external expert.
Preparing urban professionals for complex challenges
Carley’s journey at IHS began in 1992 as a student in the master’s course in urban management, then known as the Urban Management Center (UMC). She later became Programme Manager, taking on teaching, research, and project work. She delivered courses on public–private partnerships (PPPs), governance, policy, and strategic and integrated planning, helping students connect theory to real-world practice through action planning and strategic exercises.
Over the years, Carley coordinated the Urban Governance Policy and Planning (UGPP) module of the master’s program and led several 3- and 5-month short courses in the International Courses on Housing and Urban Development (ICHUD). These courses covered topics such as urban management, planning and finance, PPPs, inner-city revitalisation in Central and Eastern Europe, public management, and urban governance. Through her teaching and project experience, she consistently linked academic learning with professional practice, showing how education, research and capacity building reinforce each other in preparing urban professionals to navigate complex urban contexts.
At that time, IHS had three departments, regional offices in four countries, and staff spent nearly half their time abroad on long-term projects funded largely by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“There was a joint feeling of idealism about changing the world,” Carley recalls.
Projects across the globe
As Head of Projects for 15 years, Carley played a central role in shaping IHS’s international portfolio. She helped establish training centres in Romania, supported Kosovo’s Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning, and co-authored the City Development Strategy (CDS) 2.0 for Cities Alliance, a toolkit that continues to guide cities worldwide in strategic planning, decision making, and implementation.
"Long-term projects achieved real impact. Today, those we trained are our partners, not beneficiaries."
Shifts in governance and urban development
During her time at IHS, Carley witnessed major changes in urban governance. In the 1990s, market-oriented solutions dominated; today, inclusion, collaboration, and equity are increasingly relevant and essential for planning.
She explained how IHS engaged with these global shifts: “We spent a lot of time exploring what co-creation and co-production really mean, and how they could be applied to planning and public–private partnerships.”
This evolution was not just academic. Concepts such as participation, transparency, and equity began shaping urban strategies and capacity-building projects. Processes like city development strategies increasingly looked at who was included and excluded, with inequality and gender becoming central points of analysis. Even the notion of public-private partnerships changed: from market-driven models to more balanced collaboration between governments, private actors, and civil society.
Reflections on IHS
Looking back, Carley recalls a time when IHS was recognised for its ambitious vision, substantial international project work, and a strong sense of community among staff. Over the years, the institute evolved to meet changing demands, broadening its focus across education, research, and advisory work. The focus on projects and proposal writing led to the creation of a dedicated Projects & Acquisition team that operates on a vast range of topics within urban development, reflecting our in-depth expertise and knowledge to tackle global challenges.
Words for the future
“At the heart of IHS, staff are very good at teaching, capacity building, and increasingly in research, and these should remain central.”
She emphasises the importance of grounding capacity building in professional practice to ensure real impact. Life-long learning and experiential approaches help embed knowledge, rather than producing outputs that are not used. Above all, she encourages the next generation of urban professionals to hold on to what first drew many to the field:
“Keep your idealism and your beliefs. Keep up the good fight.”
