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This book provides an up-to-date introduction to the fundamental methods related to planning and human services delivery. These methods aid planners in answering crucial questions about human activities within a given community. This book brings the pillars of planning methods together in an introductory text targeted towards senior level undergraduate and graduate students. Planning professionals will also find this book an invaluable reference.

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The very best of classic and contemporary writings to illuminate the planning of cities and metropolitan areas. Forty-five selections include contributions from Mumford, Jacobs, McHarg, Davidoff, and Harr through to Fainstein, Healey, Hoch and Beatley. ... Read more

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This is the fifth edition of the classic text for students of urban and regional planning. It gives an historical overview of the developments and changes in the theory and practice of planning, throughout the entire twentieth century.

This extensively revised edition follows the successful format of previous editions:

• it introduces the establishment of planning as part of the public health reforms of the late nineteenth century and goes on to look at the insights of the great figures who influenced the early planning movement, leading up to the creation of the post-war planning machine
• national and regional planning, and planning for cities and city regions, in the UK, from 1945 to 2010, is then considered. Specific reference is made to the most important British developments in recent times, including the Single Regeneration Budget, English Partnerships, the devolution of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the establishment of the Mayor of London and the dominant urban sustainability paradigm
• planning in Western Europe, since 1945, now incorporating new material on EU-wide issues, as well as updated country specific sections
• planning in the United States, since 1945, now discussing the continuing trends of urban dispersal and social polarisation, as well as initiatives in land use planning and transportation policies
• finally the book looks at the nature of the planning process at the start of the twenty-first century, reflecting briefly on shifts in planning paradigms since the 1960s and going on to discuss the main issues of the 1990s and 2000s, including sustainability and social exclusion and looking forward to the twenty-first century.

Customer Reviews (2)

good book
This book is a classic work in urban planning.
I wish Amazon provid more good book in urban planning.

An introductory book for students
When I was the first year postgraduate student in Bartlett School of Planning, UCL,University of London, this book was like a compass to explore the world of urban planning. The lecture by Peter was not easy, but something complicated. Because this book was highly recommended as an introductory book by UCL, I could overcome my lack of knowlege on Western planning context. If you need to understand the general and historical context of urban and regional planning in developed countries, this book is the best to satisfy your requirement. ... Read more

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The concept of the Dublin-Belfast Economic Corridor is to link together several towns and cities by various modes of communication in an attempt to create a poly-centric mega-city region in Ireland on a scale large enough to compete with the major urban clusters of continental Europe. While each town would develop its unique economy and cultural attributes, they would function in a manner complementary to those of the others, so that the whole system has a synergy. This concept has frequently been discussed generally, but has never before been the subject of a focused study. This volume brings together an interdisciplinary team of leading scholars and practitioners to discuss the twin topics of the Dublin-Belfast corridor and the associated challenges of cross-border development from economic, geographic, regional studies, sociological and planning perspectives. With a foreword by Sir Peter Hall, the book is divided into three main sections. The first provides context, reviewing current plans and policies.The second part presents analysis and discussion of various sectoral topics, such as transportation, cross-border trade, land management, urban design, planning and institutional development. The final section outlines visions for the future, sketching out possible end-results of a corridor development in a relatively concrete way. ... Read more

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Planning under Pressure offers managers, planners, consultants and students a comprehensive and authoritative guide to the Strategic Choice Approach, which has gradually been attracting worldwide recognition as a fresh, versatile and practical approach to collaborative decision-making under uncertainty.
Starting from basic principles, the book uses helpful diagrams and clear explanations to demonstrate practical ways of approaching daunting decision problems; of devising possible ways forward; and of working effectively towards agreed courses of action.Along he way, decision makers are helped to cope with diverse sources of uncertainty - technical, political, managerial - in a strategic manner.
In this extended third edition, the authors have added short contributions from 21 users from seven countries.These new contributors present lessons from their varied experiences in adapting the Strategic Choice Approach to guide decision-making and learning in settings ranging from the re-routing of a controversial city carnival procession to national policy for the management of nuclear waste.

· Provides a step-by-step guide to the Strategic Choice Approach and guidance on how you can adapt it to your own organizational setting;
· Offers examples of its application in practice to many kinds and levels of strategic challenge around the globe;
· Authored by the two leading members of the team of pioneers who have been at the heart of development of the approach and its wide range of applications. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A valuable alternative to 'classical' strategic planning
This book looks a bit intimidating on first approach, and it is certainly long, comprehensive and detailed. However, there is an excellent 'quick access guide' immediately before the first chapter.

On taking the plunge, its good qualities rapidly become apparent. Anyone with an interest in planning, including senior managers, should at least read the Quick Access Guide and the first Chapter, Foundations. Many will be tempted to move forward, partly by the exceptionally useful diagrams which brilliantly illustrate the authors' underlying frameworks for planning. Planning specialists will find the whole book a valuable reference and guide to process.

There are innumerable books about business planning, most of which are concerned with short and long run profitability and competitive positioning as a major objective. There are far fewer that address the universals of strategic choice, whether the objective is to build a business, develop a community or plan a town precinct. This is one of the few books on strategic planning that really fit public sector organisations without heavy 'translation'. It is in fact an excellent description of sound processes for policy creation. At the same time, it is also valuable in providing useful conceptual and process rigour in support of conventional private sector strategic planning.

It is, above all, a guide to strategic thinking and interaction, seen as a continuous process of making choices in an understanding of the connectedness of issues and the dynamic nature of the environment. In style it is reminiscent of Weisbord, Marvin R, et al. Discovering Common Ground: How future search conferences bring people together. and Weisbord, Marvin R and Janoff, Future Search on future search, with their emphasis on extensive use of working drawings in the text and a process that depends heavily on open interaction.

In many ways it is complementary to the literature of future search. Future search tends to concentrate on the human dynamics involved in gaining consent, with less attention given to the, often very complex, underlying analysis that is needed to identify solutions that will work in practice. Planning under Pressure, on the other hand, has a sharp focus on a set of processes for arriving at sound decisions through time in conditions of complexity. It does not give much overt attention to who should take part (other than that the processes should be participative) or how to encourage the human process of working through our hopes, fears and mental models to arrive at decisions which people can embrace, although it does emphasize four important shifts from 'classical' planning:

* from routine procedures towards a continuous learning process
* from expert techniques towards open technology with a focus on decisions
* from individual working to interactive participation across all 'boundaries'
* from 'problem solving' to incremental progress towards strategic products

The underlying theme is the continuing need to make strategic choices through 'creative management of multiple uncertainties'.

The authors work through four modes of operation that are fundamental to the process:

* shaping mode is concerned with structuring a complex problem in terms of a set of decision areas, some of which are connected through decision links (this process is similar to the Ackoff, Russell L. Creating the Corporate Future: Plan or be Planned for concept of 'formulating the mess')
* in designing mode a set of decision options is identified for each decision area and feasible decision schemes are developed
* in comparing mode, comparison areas are formulated and relative assessments made
* in choosing mode uncertainties are developed and explored and a 'commitment package' is developed

These 'modes' are not used in a rigid cycle, but flexibly and iteratively. Skills in each mode are addressed in depth in a chapter of its own (Chapters 5-8)

The remaining chapters are addressed primarily to those who will be responsible for managing the process, being concerned with 'Practicalities', the use of electronic tools to support the process and extensions of the techniques to policy work, project management and developing common ground. (It is unfortunate that the second edition has not made any reference to Weisbord's work, which is highly complementary to this.)

It is also unfortunate that there is not more reference to systems dynamics, particularly to 'soft systems' technologies. This too is a complementary body of theory and practice. In many situations its use would add richness and robustness to the four 'modes of working', particularly through its capacity to highlight delay and the impact of unintended consequences.

Planning under Pressure offers a useful analytical alternative to 'classical' strategic planning approaches; it offers an invaluable analytical tool for all forms of planning such as policy planning that are not business based; and it provides a complementary body of analytical tools to support participative approaches to developing preferred futures and community building activities. ... Read more

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The role of social interaction and of its institutional patterns in realizing an effective linkage between knowledge and action is a classic issue of planning theory. As such, it is also linked to shifting conceptions of the "effectiveness" of planning and of its normative aims. This study of insitution design and building attempts to address the subject from an interactive and action-oriented perspective, as an invitation to think of planning - in an attitude of critical pragmatism - not merely, or primarily, as an "institutionalized" practice, as a "function" of institutions, but as a factor of institutionalization: as a form of generative action, constitutive of forms of institutionalization of social practices and, as such, of potential resources for their experimentation. This volume is divided in to three parts, the first part is devoted to tracing the reasons for a (renewed) focus on the institutional dimension of planning, with reference to the imperatives as well as to the challenges for institutional innovation in tasks of territorial governance and the second part features a case study of an experience of planning based on practices of consensus-building in New Jersey.The third part attempts to address issues concerning the role of social interaction and of its institutional patterns of conduct in an action-oriented perspective. ... Read more

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This book is the first comprehensive Australian planning text to be written in over 30 years. It incorporates both theory and current practice, providing an overview of the discipline. It provides a comprehensive view of the major issues and principal activities which occupy planning practitioners today. Further, and most importantly, the conceptual framework of the text is underpinned by the tenets of sustainability and social equity, reflecting the breadth of the authors' planning expertise, theoretical positions and practice experience. The book defines and contextualizes planning in terms of its theoretical, ideological and professional foundations. The history of the discipline, its relationship to broader governance structures and its legislative framework are canvassed. Specific issues central to planning practice today are explored and discussed.Richly illustrated with current case study examples, Planning Australia will have broad appeal for those with an interest in planning - students, community groups, practitioners and the concerned citizen. ... Read more

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Bringing together an interdisciplinary team from across the EU, this book connects elements of cultural and planning theories to explain differences and peculiarities among EU member states. A 'culturized planning model' is introduced to consider the 'rules of the game' how culture affects planning practices not only on an explicit 'surface' but also on a 'hidden' implicit level. The model consists of three analytical dimensions 'planning artifacts', 'planning environment' and 'societal environment'. This book adopts these dimensions to compare planning cultures of different European countries. This sheds light not only on the organizational or institutional structure of planning, but also the influence of deeper cultural values and layers on planning and implementation processes. ... Read more

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This book focuses on the measurement and utilisation of quantitative indicators in the urban and regional planning fields. There has been a resurgence of academic and policy interest in using indicators to inform planning, partly in response to the current government's information intensive approach to decision-making. The content of the book falls into three broad sections: indicators usage and policy-making; methodological and conception issues; and case studies of policy indicators. ... Read more

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The European Union expanded its membership in 2004 to include a number of new countries, including those forming part of the former Soviet Union. This expansion has had significant consequences for both pre-existing and new members of the European Union. New member states are assimilating into a new institutional and policy framework, while the changing geography of Europe provides a different context for policy development in pre-2004 member states. One of the more important fields in which these changes will have an impact is in regional development. The admission of the new countries changes patterns of economic and social disparities across the territory of the European Union, which in turn demands that existing approaches to regional development are reconsidered. An approach which has proved to be one of the most innovative is spatial planning. This book brings together a team of academics and policy makers from across the new Europe who are involved in regional development and spatial planning, providing insights into different approaches and a valuable opportunity to compare experiences across European borders. ... Read more

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Accession to the EU in May 2004 was a historic milestone for the spatial and urban development of the new member states. Meanwhile, the social and economic transition during the pre-accession phase already brought about radical changes in national urban systems and new challenges for regional development. In this edited volume, a carefully selected and specially commissioned set of articles, written by experts from both the new and the old EU member states, presents a comprehensive assessment of emerging political and planning solutions at local, regional, national and EU levels. Topics include brownfield redevelopment in the Czech Republic, urban sprawl in Hungary, the upgrading and integration of marginalized Roma settlements in Eastern Slovakia and sustainable coastal management in Cyprus. ... Read more

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Planning is described as being increasingly sidelined by the impacts of neo-liberalism. At the same time, 'culture' is possessing a new creative weight and importance in sociological, economic and ecological terms. This book argues that, in light of this cultural turn, there is a need and opportunity to re-position planning and proposes a new system of 'culturalisation'. Culturalisation is defined as the ethical, critical and reflexive integration of culture into planning. This original and practical system is put forward, showing how deeper, richer and more relevant culture can be utilised in planning, taking into account cultural theory, neo-modern and post-modern planning theory. This new theoretical approach is illustrated with global examples and two chapters detailing new vistas for a refurbished planning. ... Read more

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While post-structuralist approaches to social theory have been prevalent within many fields of social inquiry since its emergence in the late 1970s, to date post-structuralism hasn't been significantly adopted when examining government institutions and practices. This volume uses post-structuralist theory to develop a framework for the analysis of government institutions and policy and applies this the study of government housing policy in Western nations. The book outlines the implications of post-structuralist analysis of housing theory and practice for future developments in both housing theory and government housing policy in Western nations. ... Read more

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East Asia is currently undergoing unprecedented economic, social and political transformation, brought about by rapid urbanization, globalization and the growth of information and communication technologies. The urban challenges that the recent transformation presents are reflected on and examined in this book through city case evidence drawn from the region and beyond. Administrators, professionals and scholars have joined in this consolidated effort to address many of the urban problems familiar to those who work with cities and their rapid growth, and indicate a variety of solutions and approaches to the urban agenda. With discussion grouped into three key headings: City Management and Strategy, Finance and Budget Issues, and Land, Poverty and Other Issues, the book shares a wide range of experiences and techniques, as well as different processes and methods of implementation that are must-have reading for all who are keen on enhancing urban management. ... Read more

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Enhancing Urban Management in East Asia
The item was delivered to me within two week and the condition of the book was in perfect condition ... Read more

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This book examines the pressure that politicians, policy makers and planners are under in Detroit and Belfast to put 'image building' at the centre of urban development. The book also considers the consequences of such pressures. The heightened importance of image generally nowadays, in the formulation of development agendas, is discussed before a focus on two worst case scenarios: Detroit as the 'natural' selection by Hollywood for the urban nightmare "Robocop" films and Belfast which is frequently bracketed together with Beirut by the international media. Image mobilization through physical planning, which in Detroit dates back to the Renaissance Centre of Henry Ford in the early seventies and which in Belfast dates from the revival of the city centre in the eighties, is set in the context of the wider economic and political environment in both divided regions. ... Read more

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This book introduces the methodology of critical discourse analysis (CDA) to the study of participatory planning. CDA uses linguistic analysis to elucidate social issues and processes and is particularly suited to institutional practices and how they are changing in response to changing social conditions. Illustrated by two case studies from Australia, it examines the talk between the various participants in a formal stakeholder committee context over five years, during which time they went through several phases of changing power dynamics, conflict and reconciliation. The book demonstrates the value of CDA to this field of research and develops specific techniques and conceptual tools for applying the methodology to the 'formal talk' context of collaborative planning committees. It also sheds light on the dynamics of interaction between 'stakeholders' and bureaucracies - particularly with respect to inherent communicative barriers, power inequalities, and the development of new discursive practices. ... Read more

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The book addresses key features of processes of Europeanization, such as adaptation and change in domestic institutions and their variation across policy sectors, pointing to the need to combine institutional analysis with theoretical perspectives - such as multi-level governance and regulation theories - that contribute to understanding the emergence of new forms of institutional innovation and the changing dimensions of territoriality involved. ... Read more

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Using the economic approach of "social choice theory", this book examines difficulties found in democratic processes involved in the creation and implementation of planning policies. Special attention is given to communicative planning and the logical reasons why all the desirable properties of dialogue cannot be simultaneously attained. ... Read more