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Spatial planning is a comprehensive field of public policy and characterized by a considerable diversity of policy tools. Some of these policy tools have a long tradition, but a broadening scope of spatial planning over recent decades in many liberal democracies, accompanied by policy reforms to the way in which spatial planning operates, has altered the nature and type of policy instruments in use. Previous analyses have given limited attention to policy tools for urban and regional planning, yet in this article it is argued that a focus on procedural policy tools can allow a structured assessment of implications of major policy reforms for substantive instruments and societal outcomes. A framework for the study of policy tools according to different stages of the policy cycle is proposed. This is applied to recent planning reform in South Australia to understand changes to procedural tools and how these can influence the effectiveness of substantive policy tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The encyclical of Pope Francis I, Laudato si'. About the care of the common home (2015), he presents a comprehensive ecological vision that addresses the deep relationship between human beings and nature. The effect of this encyclical is slowly beginning to radiate into public policy. This is the case of Santiago de Cali's Development Plan 2020-2023, "Cali, unida por la Vida", where the notion of caring for the Common Home is explicitly assumed as a starting point. It was interesting to study how this is understood and incorporated unprecedented approach in the construction of a municipal public policy. Consequently, the notion of territory as Common House was analyzed in the process of preparation, approval and validation of this Development Plan, from its initial application in the mayor's government program until the end of the discussion of the plan approved by the Municipal Council. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the article is to investigate how the hegemony of traditional regional policy in Norway has been weakened in favour of policies of a new type, derived from the combined effect of climate concerns and a search for increased structural efficiency. This phenomenon is identified as an ‘eco-spatial’ turn that marks a new policy regime with changing agendas. The policy transition is analysed by drawing on existing scientific literature in the fields concerned, central policy documents, and relevant news articles. The results of the analysis substantiate that a decisive turn has taken place, with the period of transition between the two policy types identified as 1992-2015. This shift in policy orientation has important institutional and political consequences, including the move from a perspective of demographic and economic expansion in space to one of contraction and a subsequent creation of spatial scarcity. To conclude, the author questions whether the new policy position is viable, given the deep-rooted nature of regional cleavages within Norwegian society. However, the formal institutional ability to deal with the situation at the national level is in place, since national planning and regional policies have finally been gathered within the confines of one ministry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grounded in the interpretive tradition, this paper applies the theory of New State Space (NSS) to China's city regionalism. We argue that in the NSS effort in China, planning discourses enable a regulatory framework to be applied at the level of city region. City regionalism corresponds to the conceptualisation of NSS in two dimensions. First, the rise of the city region gives rise to a new territorial form of state administration. Second, the city region is made to be the most appropriate scale encapsulating capital-labour relationship (CLR). This study uses NSS to examine the regional strategic development plans (RSDPs) of the Pearl River Delta Region and presents two primary arguments based on an interpretation of the Outline of the Plan for the Reform and Development of the Pearl River Delta (2008-2020) (OPRDPRD) and the preliminary actions of various levels of government based on it. First, RSDPs serve as effective regulatory tools that not only enable new state administration articulating regulatory responsibility throughout the various levels of governmental hierarchy, but also elaborate the CLR in the interest of regional based industrial development, infrastructure construction, and formulation of social policies. Second, the city region has become a site for political rhetoric and related actions whereby regulatory order is unfolding in order to itself effect an economic restructuring and political reshuffle. Creating a city region is 'planning ideological' and solving problems is difficult because of the asymmetric jurisdictional power relations between municipalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate-conscious development is a topic which has received widespread attention. One consequence of this is the prominence of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets set at various administrative levels (i.e. global, national, provincial and local governments). Despite the global interest, current models are incapable of integrating GHG emission reduction into the urban planning. This study presents lessons learned from a climate conscious growth study conducted for a fast-growing municipality in Okanagan, British Columbia, Canada, offering a model for local government target-setting generalizable across networks of communities, leading to significant cumulative GHG reductions at global scale. The study uses the results of engineering-based research to evaluate multiple planning scenarios developed to explore options for the subject municipality’s future urban form and the associated GHG emissions for the target year 2040. Overall municipal GHG emissions for each scenario were simulated in the study considering the residential and transportation emissions projections. The findings indicated that the lowest emissions scenario was the ultra-compact growth model without area structure plan (ASP) allocations. Accordingly, it was concluded that a densified growth strategy with a higher share of multi-unit residential development is technically the best path forward in municipal growth planning to meet climate action targets. Negative public perception of increased densification in urban areas remains an obstacle to the technically best solution. Moreover, per capita basis could be a more feasible approach for GHG emissions target setting. This study’s outcomes are expected to inform public sector institutions and decision makers in setting GHG targets and climate action planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Till date, Nigeria can not boast of a specific, well-formulated, clear regional development policy framework despite several urban planning, development and governance initiatives including passage of regulations at both federal and state government levels that have been undertaken since independence by successive post-colonial governments. Most of the country's claims of regional development are products of other policies, and intentions, which do not have any bearing on, deliberate regional planning policies. Policy and decision-making on development planning often do not incorporate the implications of the ways in which we use land and the consequences for different places (economic planning). The neglect of place, in particular, the way that different policies combine to affect places in different ways (regional planning), has contributed to a range of negative economic, social and environmental outcomes. This paper relies mainly on the secondary data and literature exploration to demonstrate that the little role accorded to spatial planning, especially, regional planning, in the development efforts is largely responsible for the underdevelopment, imbalance, and inequalities in the country, as well as poverty of the citizens. The conclusion of the paper is that regional planning should be an integral part and complementary to economic planning in the national development planning of the country. For regional planning to aid in the development of the country and promote the well-being of the citizens, appropriate recommendations have been included in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective integration across policy domains and between spatial scales is indispensable in dealing with the inherently complex process of policy formulation and implementation at all levels. In this paper, we examine the key features of Ghana's spatial planning system focusing on the mechanisms and challenges of policy integration in practice. We show that a combination of path dependence and recent reforms has inevitably created two distinctly separate planning systems: an established Development Planning System and a newly instituted Spatial Planning System. Under the established notion of the 'spatial' being distinctively separate from the 'socio-economic' in planning, these two systems deploy separate institutional and legal arrangements as well as policy instruments to accomplish the task of planning. Within this context, mechanisms to ensure effective policy integration were found to be weak and ineffective. Moreover, the absence of a tradition of strategic regional planning and a culture of strategic partnerships among local authorities, the lack of appropriate institutional arrangements and sustainable sources of finance and duplicitous institutional functions were the key barriers to effective integration within the new concept of hierarchical spatial planning. We argue that a new paradigm of integrated planning under a unified planning system is urgently needed as a pre-condition for effective multi-level policy integration. We suggest that some forms of institutional restructuring would be necessary to establish a tradition of integrated planning. Finally, we recommend the use of legally binding mechanisms to institutionalize and enforce a culture of strategic alliance among local governments in cross-cutting matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical planning is influenced by a number of variables. The key among these in the Ghanaian context is the system of land governance. This paper attempts to examine the extent to which the decentralised planning system of Ghana is capable of addressing the challenges facing mid-sized cities, particularly under the reformed land governance system. This is important because physical planning in Ghana is organised under a system whereby land is governed and/or owned by authorities other than the state apparatus. Two key questions are the basis for this enquiry-how is physical planning in Ghana conceived and actually executed? What are the characteristics of the reformed land governance system of Ghana and how have these affected decentralised physical planning and spatial governance? A case study approach which enables a detailed and holistic analysis of the phenomenon was used to investigate physical planning practice in a selected mid-sized city in Ghana. The study establishes that physical planning in Ghana is not driven by long-term sustainable development visions; there is the absence of planning concepts, principles and norms; and there is no clear land use regulator. The study recommends that the local government bodies in Ghana take up their responsibility as land use regulators by improving the capacity of their physical planning departments to deliver on their mandate. It is also recommended that physical planning be conducted in a participatory manner within the framework of the National Development Planning (Systems) Act 1994 (Act 480). It is argued that this will imply a move away from 'zoning and rezoning' to strategic spatial planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares planning system reform processes and outcomes over the last decade in Australia, England and New Zealand. (In the earlier years of last century planning legislation was UK based. However, it has become increasingly different across the four constituent jurisdictions. This paper, therefore, concentrates on the position in England.) All three countries share close cultural ties stemming from colonisation and similar legal systems. However, very different approaches to spatial planning have evolved over time. Nevertheless, a close reading of recent government reports and reform proposals from all three countries suggests that these differences are narrowing, with striking similarities in diagnoses of planning problems and in prescribed solutions. Our analysis highlights these similarities and asks whether apparent policy sharing and transfer across the three countries is reflected in substantive policy decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem: The practice of scenario planning is often too focused on developing a single preferred scenario and fails to adequately consider multiple uncertain futures. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently awarded grants for scenario planning at regional and metropolitan scales that further promote this practice. However, a lack of systematic analysis of uncertainty limits the role of scenario planning. Purpose: The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how to incorporate uncertainty into large-scale scenario analysis and then use that framework to identify contingent and robust plans. Methods: We adapt the concepts of controllable internal options and uncontrollable external forces and consider their interactions in order to develop future scenarios and identify contingent and robust decisions. We then apply this technique using advanced econometric, land use, and transportation models developed for the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan region and its vicinity. Finally, based on the results of a hypothetical, yet plausible, exercise, we show how contingent and robust decisions can help local and regional governments develop contingent and robust plans. Results and conclusions: Scenarios developed as a combination of internal options and external forces allow us to identify a wider range of future impacts than in traditional metropolitan scenario planning. Robust plans support choices that offer benefits across scenarios. Contingent plans can be tailored to specific futures. Takeaway for practice: By providing a way to think systematically about uncertainty, scenario analysis promises to improve the efficacy of large-scale planning. Research support: This article was not directly supported by any outside agency, but support for the modeling system was provided by the following organizations: Maryland State Highway Administration, Maryland Department of Transportation, Maryland Department of Planning, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the challenges of climate change and population growth, it is essential for planners to think about the health of people and the planet in an integrated way. Until recently the profession has focused on environmental sustainability without necessarily making the link to human health. This is despite mounting evidence for the critical role urban planning plays in supporting human health and wellbeing. Walkable and mixed use urban areas, active and public transport modes, open space and locally sourced fresh food, together with safe and well-designed neighbourhoods, are the foundations of both environmental and human health. Regional plans set the framework within which these outcomes can be realised. This paper examines how the South East Queensland Regional Plan 2009-2031 proposes to manage human health in relation to environmental sustainability. Using a detailed textual analysis of the Plan, the paper investigates how well the Plan incorporates a comprehensive suite of inter-sectoral provisions that will build the strategic policy foundation for supporting human health and environmental sustainability in a high growth scenario. Further, consideration is given to how the specific provisions will translate into future actions and development requirements for the Region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper proposes a methodological approach to regional and urban planning in order to design, settle and manage a public policy for the attraction, location and distribution of different groups of immigrants. It further develops a set of decision-support tools, including a management information system and an integrated and interactive model in order to: (i) characterize the patterns of residential land used by different groups of immigrants according to their professional features, and respective evolution, (ii) anticipate the location of new immigrants or groups of immigrants that arrive into the studied territory (according to their demographic, economic and professional characteristics, keeping or changing the prevailing socio-economic, planning and territorial structure), and respective evolution, and (iii) monitor the evolution of respective social, economic and professional territorial integration. This methodology and set of tools are applied, as a case study, to the Oporto Metropolitan Area (Portugal). They possess display and simulation functionalities that support the test and implementation of local, regional and urban policy strategic decisions. Once workmanship quantitative and qualitative needs are specified – according to regional overall prevailing strategies – it outlines the socio-economic-professional conditions to welcome and to fulfil the needs of different population groups – through provision of proper housing, infrastructures, equipments and jobs, as well as through governance mechanisms – in the scope of socio-economic sustainability and life quality principles. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The present study aims to investigate: (i) whether, why and how diversity affects the creative capacity of cities and regions, (ii) under which conditions diversity can be the source of urban and regional competitive advantage in knowledge-intensive activities and (iii) which are the key assets, infrastructures and policy tools required to foster the development of creative, competitive and cohesive places. Diversity and creativity are complex and multi-faceted issues, and to understand their roles and effects, contributions from various social sciences are required. Therefore, the study examines the dynamics of diversity and creativity at different levels from individual to group and society, at different scales from team or organization to cities and regions and from different perspectives including the disciplines of psychology, sociology and economics. While underlying the interconnection between diversity and creativity, the study specifically focuses on the direct economic, social and spatial implications of diversity and creativity in cities and regions. Why some places (cities and regions) are more attractive than some others for diverse and creative people and innovative and creative activities? The paper aims to put current debates about diversity and creative cities in context and perspective. The discussion considers the policy roadmap to the creative city and challenges for governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports the decision of the Washington Court of Appeals 'Cannabis Action Coal. v. City of Kent.' The court conclude that the city ordinance prohibiting "collective gardening" of medical marijuana, although permitted by state law, is a valid exercise of the city's zoning authority and a state's legislation does not preempt the ordinance because the ordinance regulates land use activity.

The interest in spatial planning and territorial cohesion has prompted new scales of land-use planning interventions. This paper considers the experimentation and learning around the National Planning Framework in Scotland. This political instrument is predicated on active public participation to craft and legitimate a national planning agenda to re-position a devolved Scotland in a global context. The process involves a two-year programme of participatory activities. This paper conceptualizes this innovation through a discussion of the prerequisites for civic involvement at this national scale. It explores ideas relating to the need to develop a national vocabulary in the context of a small nation state. It highlights ideas relating to civic virtue and civic formation and the significance of an interest in public affairs, respect and trust, political equality, and a sense of public-spiritedness in preparing the way for active public engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors assessed the willingness of residents to pay for urban green-space conservation in Hangzhou, China, using the contingent-valuation method. The aim of the study was to provide policy makers with information that would be useful for making informed decisions in urban-development planning. The findings of the study are as follows: 1) The willingness of residents to pay for urban green-space conservation was positively correlated with their perceptions of the benefits of green spaces and negatively correlated with perceptions of the annoyances. 2) The willingness to pay a higher premium for green-space conservation is directly related to gender, income level, and residential-ownership status. Age and education level are not significantly correlated with willingness to pay. 3) A majority of respondents view the conservation of urban green spaces as a very important function of the city, and most of them are willing to pay additional taxes for this conservation. 4) The total value per year to the public of the conservation program in Hangzhou is about $15.4 million. These qualitative and quantitative findings can be used in the policy-making process for urban-development plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a century, town and country planning has been an important field of public endeavour. Now more commonly known as urban and regional or urban and rural planning, its names have recognized its concern for non-built-up as much as built-up areas; i.e. the countryside. Notwithstanding, little effort was expended there until about half way through the century. This has changed. Rural planning has burgeoned, barely reflected, however, within planning history in Australia. This article addresses this by examining how land-use planning for the countryside has evolved in South Australia since the introduction of the modern form of statutory planning in 1967. It traces the evolution of statutory policy and how it has been informed by concepts such as nature conservation, landscape maintenance, environmental protection and ecological sustainability. It underlines the tensions inherent in a system created primarily to deal with the slower changing urban conglomerate of built form when applied to the countryside where the dynamism of the seasons requires an ongoing land management approach. Experiments in policy planning and legislation are examined and it is concluded that, as in urban planning, ideas of innovation and diffusion are valid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After more than 20 years, Israeli troops withdrew in 2000 from the occupied part of southern Lebanon. The Israeli occupation left the region with complicated environmental and planning problems. Spontaneous development has taken place, and it has become the main feature of physical growth. In order to tackle the problems that have resulted, regional planning scenarios have evolved. This paper attempts to apply the location-allocation approach, as a tool for rural–urban linkages, to regional planning development of the southern Lebanon along with the rest of the country. Three main regional plan scenarios, immediate, intermediate and consolidated, have emerged. Each of these has developed in the southern part of Lebanon and various actors have been involved in the rural–urban development processes. The enhancement of rural–urban linkages would enable the state and professionals to improve the economic and environmental development within the region. Therefore, the tremendous economic values of rural–urban integration should be harnessed to promote development and alleviate poverty on one hand, and to set up regional planning schemes on the other. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article reports on a preliminary effort to conceptualize and measure two dimensions of the concept of national linkages and to examine the relationship between these linkages and policy outputs in the area of city planning as of September 1980. There are several directions which future work might take to increase our understanding of the role of national linkages. Two issues that are suggested by the findings presented here are: first, the measurement of national linkages, and second, its relationship to a variety of community outputs. Although national linkages, or more generally speaking, community interdependence, may be a theoretically valid dimension of community structure, much additional work is required to clarify its various components and, most importantly, its measurement. To date, the empirical work with the concept has relied on relatively simplistic measurements; while the indices introduced here are an improvement, additional effort is required to allow a cumulation of knowledge regarding the effect of such linkages on communities. With respect to the issue of the relationship between linkages and community outputs, several attempts to explore the relationship have preceded my attempt; the work of Turk, Foley and Lincoln are illustrative. To date, the evidence confirms the existence of a relationship; the results presented here raise two questions about the relationship.

The article reports on the feasibility study regarding the implementation of urban and regional planning commissioned by the Planning Policy Unit of the Department of Environment (DoE) in London, England. The feasibility study is intended to develop a framework to help understand the issues important for the implementation of planning policies. As part of the study, interviews with the department's staff, local authorities and statutory bodies were conducted. It was found that there are many actions which have great impact on the real world which cannot be attributed to a particular policy or set of objectives.

This paper examines the relevance of the "strength of weak ties" model (Granovetter 1973) in devising community development strategies for urban neighborhoods. The policy implications of this model for activities designed to promote neighborhood identification and cohesion are outlined, and Granovetter's specific assumptions about the structure and functioning of urban neighborhood social networks are assessed in light of existing research. Little support is found for the presumed absence of bridging weak ties among urban neighbors, or for the assumption that strong ties create an obstacle to effective political mobilization in working-class neighborhoods. An alternative model of local-level integration is suggested, which retains Granovetter's concept of dense clusters of network ties linked by "local bridges", but re-examines the role of weak ties in effecting such bridges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various methodologies and policy guidelines for structural planning in the South Wales area. Several experts from local planning authorities are encouraged to get involved in the preparation of plans to effectively work on a desired structural project and to address issues on recreation planning. However, the local government noted that work for the remediation of shortcomings in the demand sector has been restricted. Hence, the progress towards the completion of the structural plan has been affected and delayed.

The paper outlines the background to and implementation of the latest area improvement or regional programme to be introduced in western Sydney. The Local Government Development Programme is the most recent of five area improvement programmes set up in western Sydney by federal and state Labour governments. It has been the least ambitious and least controversial. As a federal programme its aim is to strengthen the role of local government by extending its capacities to respond to local and, regional planning issues. Because of the availability of cheap land and housing, the region tended to attract low-income earners, migrants, young families and welfare recipients. These demographic characteristics ensured that the region would experience enormous difficulties meeting the backlog in services and facilities created by rapid growth and poor planning. It also meant that the region had to develop an economic base that could capitalize on its size, diversity and growth to provide employment opportunities.

The article discusses the experience of the National Resources Planning Board (NRPB) in the city planning in World War II. Between 1941 and its demise in 1943, the NRPB proceeded along four parallel but complementary paths. These were: the canvassing of informed opinion about the federal role in the postwar reconstruction of American cities; establishing liaisons with other federal agencies, planning bodies, and private institutions committed to reform of the urban environment; sponsoring studies bearing on specific aspects of the urban problems, such as metropolitan consolidation, new sources of revenue, and recreation; drafting a progressive urban planning procedure as a model for cities to emulate. The experimental projects were to serve, in the first instance, as the yardstick for critically appraising other neighborhood redevelopment programs seeking federal assistance and as a catalyst for generating an integrated series of local projects. The first stage, which would last only a few months, was to culminate in an outline plan for overall development.

The article informs that the past several centuries especially the 18th and 19th, had already witnessed a tremendous surge in urban concentration, especially in Europe and America. Yet it all seemed still on a human scale. The sweeping technological breakthroughs of the 20th century have made possible a break through what seemed at least the human scale of the old urban order. Efficient supplies of water, power, food, and other necessities, seem to leave no definite limits to the concentration of population on a mammoth scale, where technology can support this. Yet even where the technology does not, concentration proceeds apace. Witness Cairo in Egypt, the several cities of similar gargantuan size in India and South America, and other trends in so-called "developing" countries. American technology may be able to support manifest errors in urban and regional planning in its major metropolitan areas.

The rationality of regional and urban planning in the U.S. depends upon the continuing analysis of national programs with the aim of understanding their regional impact in both the short and long run. Anything short of comprehensive national and regional planning, in the face of very rapid technological change, is an invitation to national calamity, a calamity realized in the urban crisis of the 1960's. The regional and national planning process must take into account the impact of technological change and the governmental programs which reinforce that change. Rational development planning cannot result from a framework which does not recognize the relationship existing between a particular region and the nation. Rational regional planning cannot exist without national coordination. This coordination must take the form of a national program which provides a full employment environment along with welfare and income maintenance schemes that are not contradictory. Furthermore, the transportation, energy, and production subsidy programs must be rationalized so that problems are not solved for one region by simply transferring them to another.

Effective regional planning of the vast territory of the Soviet Union is perhaps one of the most vital factors affecting the creation of a more efficient and balanced Soviet economy. Few will dispute the need for greater regional economic coordination and resource development. Prior to 1957, Soviet industry was administrated on a vertical rather than a regional arrangement. The main subjects of discussion of this article are the regional concept, the state of development of the major regions, and a classification of these regions. Since recently there was a return to the ministerial control of industry, the regional approach must have been unsatisfactory. The rejection of this system may have due to the following factors: (I) the interference of this approach with the desire of the state to ensure the rapid growth of certain "key" industries, particularly heavy industry; (2) the unwillingness to delegate sufficient authority to the regional councils to permit efficient operations; and (3) the threat of the regional system stimulating a trend towards a more independent status of certain regions, especially those found in non- Russian Republics.

The article discusses the issues on regional planning and the actions taken by the national government for the plan. The author aims to challenge and argue the views of other authors who previously commented on the regional planning issue. According to the author, regional planning cannot work successfully without the effective concentration of responsibilities at the central government, as well as the substantial devolution of powers to democratically constituted regional agencies. The author stressed that the existing regional plans have diverse administrative origins and are motivated by pressing problems unfamiliar to the area.

A number of concepts and conditions in current city planning are questioned: the grand master plan delusion; planning after the fact; intermittent master planning; the illusion of complete study; avoiding the critical problems; trying to do everything; sematic confusion; conflicts of role and organization; unrealistic derivation of goals and objectives; failure of city planning in the general public interest; deficiencies of planning personnel; inadequacies of theory and research; underestimating fundamental difficulties of the city planning endeavor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A conference on the topic "The Cities and Their Environment" was organized by Kerrie MacPherson, of the University of Hong Kong, sponsored by the University's Centre for Urban Planning and Environment Management, and held under the auspices of the International Planning History Society. It was the Society's sixth international planning history conference since its formation as the Planning History Group in England in 1974. The first international conference, at Bedford College of the University of London in 1977, was a considerable stimulus to the study of the historical antecedents and processes of town planning, and flushed out 39 papers covering a wide canvas. Tokyo was the venue for the third gathering in 1988, which focused on the international transmission of planning ideas. The fourth conference in Birmingham in 1989, sponsored by the Bournville Village Trust, took as its theme the "garden city tradition re-examine" and led to another edited volume. The fifth international conference in Richmond, Virginia, in 1991 looked primarily at issues and subjects in American planning history, being a joint venture with the Society for American City and Regional Planning History.

The article focuses on the issue of city planning and the housing problem in the U.S. In spite of the temporary relief from house shortage, experienced by a few industrial centers as a result of the business depression of 1921, and notwithstanding the relatively large amount of building construction carried out in 1922, the housing problem is still unsolved. The real progress has been made, as the hysterical attitude toward the problem, represented by the housing committees, community housing projects, tax exemption plans and government subsidy schemes, which were so common a year or two ago, has largely disappeared. One other hopeful sign for the solution of this problem of public welfare may be found in the greatly increased interest, all over the U.S., in city planning. City planning involves the planning in advance, and intelligent control of the development, of all of the physical facilities of the city. In planning a street system, consideration must be given to the other portions of the city plan including, especially, steam and electric transportation, parks and playgrounds, and zoning. The most important of all, city planning affects housing through the operation of zoning, or division of the community into districts.

The article presents the author's views on the complexities of the planning reform processes, and planning reform efforts in Australia. He talks about the importance of continuous planning improvement processes. He says that planning and development legislation helps in dealing with changes in the needs of current and future generations. He talks about importance of involving everyone including parliamentarians, bureaucrats, planning professionals, community groups, industry groups in planning.

The article focuses on the aesthetic principles of town and country planning in the context of sociology. The hygiene of Town and Country Planning has long been studied in a scientific way, but in regard to esthetic amenity it has been tacitly assumed that any educated and cultured person is equipped with the necessary knowledge. The author emphasizes the preponderating importance to regional planning of architectural elevations which will take their place quietly in the rural landscape particularly in respect of tone and color. A large increase of tree planting and gardening in the towns to relieve the hardness of line and harshness of surface which make the merely architectural landscape inexpressibly fatiguing to the eye, no matter how excellent its design may be, the compact instead of radial arrangement of suburbs, permitting a definite grouping of architectural and natural features, and the reservation of selected areas of wild scenery as national parks and sanctuaries for rare species of animals and plants, in order that our predominantly urban population shall not lose touch with that spontaneous aspect of nature which has so profound an influence upon the nobler aspirations of the mind.

Presents a calendar of events relevant to community planning in 2004. International Downtown Association meeting; National Congress for Community Economic Development; Transportation Research Board conference.

The article comments on an article by Peter Flynn on the way the Department of the Environment measures urban deprivation in Great Britain. He misunderstood the aim of the agency's studies of urban deprivation and exaggerated their importance in policy determination. The Department's work was intended to measure the extent of deprivation at local authority level by looking at data for all local authorities. So it is a nonsense for him to compare Liverpool with the whole of London.