Planning Power

Power and inequality are realities that planners of all kinds must face in the practical world. In 'Planning in the Face of Power', John Forester argues that effective, public-serving planners can overcome the traditional--but paralyzing--dichotomies of being either professional or political, detached and distantly rational or engaged and change-oriented. Because inequalities of power directly structure planning practice, planners who are blind to relations of power will inevitably fail. Forester shows how, in the face of the conflict-ridden demands of practice, planners can think politically and rationally at the same time, avoid common sources of failure, and work to advance both a vision of the broader public good and the interests of the least powerful members of society.

Modern urban planning has long promised to improve the quality of human life. But how is human life defined? Displacing Blackness develops a unique critique of urban planning by focusing, not on its subservience to economic or political elites, but on its efforts to improve people’s lives. While focused on twentieth-century Halifax, Displacing Blackness develops broad insights about the possibilities and limitations of modern planning. Drawing connections between the history of planning and emerging scholarship in Black Studies, Ted Rutland positions anti-blackness at the heart of contemporary city-making. Moving through a series of important planning initiatives, from a social housing project concerned with the moral and physical health of working-class residents to a sustainability-focused regional plan, Displacing Blackness shows how race – specifically blackness – has defined the boundaries of the human being and guided urban planning, with grave consequences for the city’s Black residents.

Providing more than twice the content of the original edition, this new edition is the premier source on the selection, development, and provision of safe, high-quality, and cost-effective electric utility distribution systems, and it promises vast improvements in system reliability and layout by spanning every aspect of system planning including load forecasting, scheduling, performance, and economics. Responding to the evolving needs of electric utilities, Power Distribution Planning Reference Book presents an abundance of real-world examples, procedural and managerial issues, and engineering and analytical methodologies that are crucial to efficient and enhanced system performance.

With a multidisciplinary perspective, Planning Power examines British and French colonial town and country planning efforts in Africa. Drawing out similarities in the colonial administrative and economic strategies of the two powers, rather than emphasizing the differences, the book offers an unusually nuanced view of African planning systems in a time of upheaval and political change. In showing how the colonial authorities sought to gain political and social control in Africa, it can be seen how their will to exert political power influenced every area of planning practice during this era. This unique comparative analysis of British and French colonial town planning – covering the entire sub-Saharan African region – takes theories from a wide range of disciplines, including political science, history, urban and regional planning, economics and geography to paint a comprehensive picture of the subject. Written by a prolific researcher and writer in the political-economy of urban and regional planning in Africa, Planning Power is valuable reading for students and academics in a range of disciplines.

With an unusually nuanced view of African planning systems in a time of upheaval and political change, Planning Power examines British and French colonial town and country planning efforts in Africa to provide valuable reading for researchers and students in a wide range of disciplines.

The present book addresses various power system planning issues for professionals as well as senior level and postgraduate students. Its emphasis is on long-term issues, although much of the ideas may be used for short and mid-term cases, with some modifications. Back-up materials are provided in twelve appendices of the book. The readers can use the numerous examples presented within the chapters and problems at the end of the chapters, to make sure that the materials are adequately followed up. Based on what Matlab provides as a powerful package for students and professional, some of the examples and the problems are solved in using M-files especially developed and attached for this purpose. This adds a unique feature to the book for in-depth understanding of the materials, sometimes, difficult to apprehend mathematically. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to Power System Planning (PSP) issues and basic principles. As most of PSP problems are modeled as optimization problems, optimization techniques are covered in some details in Chapter 2. Moreover, PSP decision makings are based on both technical and economic considerations, so economic principles are briefly reviewed in Chapter 3. As a basic requirement of PSP studies, the load has to be known. Therefore, load forecasting is presented in Chapter 4. Single bus Generation Expansion Planning (GEP) problem is described in Chapter 5. This study is performed using WASP-IV, developed by International Atomic Energy Agency. The study ignores the grid structure. A Multi-bus GEP problem is discussed in Chapter 6 in which the transmission effects are, somehow, accounted for. The results of single bus GEP is used as an input to this problem. SEP problem is fully presented in Chapter 7. Chapter 8 devotes to Network Expansion Planning (NEP) problem, in which the network is planned. The results of NEP, somehow, fixes the network structure. Some practical considerations and improvements such as multi-voltage cases are discussed in Chapter 9. As NEP study is typically based on some simplifying assumptions and Direct Current Load Flow (DCLF) analysis, detailed Reactive Power Planning (RPP) study is finally presented in Chapter 10, to guarantee acceptable ACLF performance during normal as well as contingency conditions. This, somehow, concludes the basic PSP problem. The changing environments due to power system restructuring dictate some uncertainties on PSP issues. It is shown in Chapter 11 that how these uncertainties can be accounted for. Although is intended to be a text book, PSP is a research oriented topic, too. That is why Chapter 12 is devoted to research trends in PSP. The chapters conclude with a comprehensive example in Chapter 13, showing the step-by-step solution of a practical case.

The book addresses critically the question: "What is the societal impact of urban and regional planning?". It begins with a theoretical discussion and then analyses, through a series of case studies, the intentions, contents, struggles and consequences of urban and regional planning. It shows that plans and policies often defy the commonly perceived role of advancing equality, justice, development and amenity, by causing social problems, marginalisation and inequalities. The book looks at planning from a critical distance, without a priori belief in its necessity or usefulness. The 12 chapters, written by renowned international scholars, demonstrate the multiplicity of social and political struggles over the contested terrain of spatial policies. The book focuses on four key areas where the impact of planning is explored: the community power, gender relations, ethnic tensions, and social polarisation, while comparing three societies: Australia, Israel and England. Audience: This volume is mainly intended for faculty and students of academia, but also for urban professionals and policy-makers. The book is relevant to fields such as urban and regional planning, geography, political science, urban studies, urban sociology, urban anthropology, ethnic and gender relations.

Drawing on research from diverse thinkers in urban planning and the built environment, this Handbook articulates the cutting edge of contemporary understandings about power and its impact on planning. It identifies the current state of knowledge about planning and power, as well as emerging trajectories within this field of research.