Planning in a Global Era

Globalization was the buzzword of the last decade. Advances in communication technology, computing and air travel have all contributed to the establishment of what has been referred to as a 'network society' that encompasses the globe. Such arguments clearly have a significance on planning - an activity which has been concerned with controlling and shaping the use of space. This volume brings together contributions from across the world in order to address some of the questions that arise from such global changes. The opening section addresses the globalization debate directly, raising some theoretical issues and exploring the planning implications across a range of world cities. This is followed by an exploration of the way the theoretical debate about planning may need to advance to encompass contemporary forces. A number of more specific accounts addressing the need for adaptation are offered. The final section focuses on two aspects - housing and sustainability - which persist as 'wicked problems' and are likely to remain at the top of the agenda in the third millennium.

Contents: Planning in a global era, Andy Thornley and Yvonne Rydin; Globalization, world cities and urban planning: developing a conceptual framework, Peter Newman and Andy Thornley; A global city in a developmental state: urban planning in Tokyo, Asato Saito; The global city hypothesis for the periphery: a comparative case study of Mexico City, Istanbul and Guangzhou, Miguel Jimenez, Bo-Sin Tang, Murat Cemal Yalcintan and Ertan Zibel; Should provinces/regions have their own planning acts? an exploration of the debate using the post-1994 South African experience, Mark Oranje; Bringing power to planning research: one researcher’s story, Bent Flyvbjerg; Learning from planning practice?, Vanessa Watson; Deconstructing the built environment: design experimentation within public spaces, Wael Fahmi and Joe Howe; Lefebvre’s modernities: informality, planning and space in Cape Town, Yonn Dierwechter; Conditions for the integration of ecological knowledge in land-use planning - the local government ecologist perspective, Sylvia Dovlén; Doubts and beliefs in Norwegian environmental bureaucracy, Terje Kleven; The ambiguities of change: the case of the planning profession in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Philip Harrison and Michael Kahn; Government approach to housing the urban poor in Egypt: the need for an alternative, Mohsen Aboutorabi and Khaled M. Abdelhalim; From privatisation to bureaucratisation: implementing urban renewal in Hong Kong, Bo-Sin Tang; Empowerment and social exclusion: urban policy in Scotland and the U.S.A., John McCarthy; The perils of growth and decline: sustainable development in Edinburgh and Wuppertal (Germany), Daniel Mittler; The development of sustainable transport policies in Warsaw: 1990-2000, Eamonn Judge; Planning for sustainability and the impact of professional cultures, Maria HÃ¥kansson and Eva Asplund