The challenges of planning and the twenty-first-century city

Abstract

An important factor in shaping our cities and towns is how we plan for and regulate change, growth or decline. This typically involves some sort of regulatory or planning framework that specifies the nature of land-use activities and the provision of infrastructure, goods and services. What is sociologically interesting is that the framework is not politically neutral. It is shaped by specific political ideologies, often either state-centred or neo-liberal 'market-driven' approaches.