Planners in the UK have had continually to adjust their priorities and practices in light of changing political agendas and real-world problems. This new text, from one of the UK's leading planning voices, shows how planning has evolved, and gives a clear and critical overview of the meaning and form of spatial planning.
Presenting planning as always and everywhere needing to manage the tension between people's demands and the finite resources of the land, Tewdwr-Jones examines today's challenges and the solutions that planning might offer. Particular attention is given to the pressures caused by economic uncertainty, climate change and a changing demography and to how the current emphasis on localism affects planners' ability to respond to these pressures. The book takes full account of multi-level governance in the UK and shows how the European planning agenda is implemented nationally. Combining historical analysis with contemporary examples and debate, Spatial Planning and Governance provides an original perspective on what planning has become and what it might offer in the future.