The Politics Of Planning

The idea of `economic planning' was a central theme of the radical economic policy debate in the 1930s. Born of the inter-war economic crisis, the call for the reconstruction of the economy according to a `plan' of one kind or another spanned practically the entire spectrum of the politics ofthe day. The fashion for planning is often seen as the seedbed of the Keynesian revolution and the `Butskellite' consensus of thenext decade. Yet `planning' was neither uniformly Keynesian nor, in fact, indicative of political agreement over economic policy. Beneath the shared language ofplanning, the radical economic debate was riven by the same ideological rifts which dominated the more conventional political scene. Dr Ritschel traces the many interpretations of planning, and examines the process of ideological construction and dissemination of the new economic ideas. He finisheswith an explanation of the planners' retreat, late in the decade, from the divisive economics of planning towards the less ambitious but also far less contentious alternative - the `middle way' of Keynesian economics.

Mastering the Politics of Planning shows how planners and policy analysts can actively manage the implementation of their plans--and so ensure their success. It reveals how such political skills as networking, conflict resolution, and coalition building are as important as technical expertise in determining whether a plan will succeed or fail--and reveals ways planners can develop these skills.

Planning is not a technical and value free activity. Planning is an overt political system that creates both winners and losers. The Planning Polity is a book that considers the politics of development and decision-making, and political conflicts between agencies and institutions within British town and country planning. The focus of assessment is how British planning has been formulated since the early 1990s, and provides an in-depth and revealing assessment of both the Major and Blair governments' terms of office. The book will prove to be an invaluable guide to the British planning system today and the political demands on it. Students and activists within urban and regional studies, planning, political science and government, environmental studies, urban and rural geography, development, surveying and planning, will all find the book to be an essential companion to their work.

The Ontario Municipal Board is an independent provincial planning appeals body that has wielded major influence on Toronto’s urban development. In this book, Aaron A. Moore examines the effect that the OMB has had on the behavior and relationships of Toronto’s main political actors, including city planners, developers, neighbourhood associations, and local politicians. Moore’s findings draw on a quantitative analysis of all OMB decisions and settlements from 2000 through 2006, as well as eight in-depth case studies. The cases, which examine a variety of development proposals that resulted in OMB appeals, compare the decisions of Toronto’s political actors to those typified in American local political economy analyses. A much-needed contribution to the literature on the politics of urban development in Toronto since the 1970s, Planning Politics in Toronto challenges popular preconceptions of the OMB’s role in Toronto’s patterns of growth and change.

Planning is a battleground of ideas and interests, perhaps more visibly and continuously than ever before in the UK. These battles play out nationally and at every level, from cities to the smallest neighbourhoods. Marshall goes to the root of current planning models and exposes who is acting for what purposes across these battlegrounds. He examines the ideological structuring of planning and the interplay of political forces which act out conflicting interest positions. This book discusses how structures of planning can be improved and explores how we can generate more effective political engagements in the future.

In this innovative book, ten executive politicians with backgrounds in planning from around the world dissect their own political careers. Reflecting on the often structural impact of their work in political decision-making, they also consider the translation of their experiences back into academic life or professional practice.