Compromise Planning : A Theoretical Approach from a Distant Corner of Europe

The author of this book proposes a planning theory that departs from the theories of developed countries in the North-West, using empirical material from Greece, which sits on the edge between North-West and South-East. The book challenges the idea of transplanting theories from the North-West to countries with different historical, political, social, and geographical backgrounds and emphasizes the unpredictable, patchy, and responsive nature of reality that planners face. The author proposes compromise planning as an alternative to existing theoretical forms of planning, which is based on experience and knowledge accumulated through academic teaching, research, and professional involvement.

Format: Hardback
Length: 403 pages
Publication date: 29 March 2022
Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland AG

The purpose of this book is to elaborate a planning theory that departs from the plethora of theories that reflect the conditions of developed countries in the North-West. The empirical material for this effort is derived from a country, Greece, which sits on the edge between North-West and South-East, at the corner of Europe.

No doubt, there is extensive international literature on planning theory in general from a bewildering variety of viewpoints. The interested professional or student of urban and regional planning is certainly aware of the dizzying flood of books, articles, and research reports on planning theory and of their never-ending borrowing of obscure concepts from more respectable scientific disciplines, from mathematics to philosophy and from physics to economics, human geography, and sociology. He or she probably observed that there is a growing interest in theoretical approaches from the viewpoint of the so-called "Global South".

The author of the present book has for many decades faced the impasse of attempting to transplant theories founded on the experience of the North-West to countries with a totally different historical, political, social, and geographical background. He learned that the reality that planners face is unpredictable, patchy, and responsive to social processes, frequently of a very pedestrian nature. Planning strives to deal with private interests that planners are keen to envelop in a single "public interest", which is extremely hard to define. The behavior of the average citizen, far from being that of the neoclassical model of the homo economicus, is that of an individual, a kind of homo individualis, who interacts with the state and the public administration within a complex web of mutual dependence and negotiation.

The state and the public administration, for their part, are not immune to the pressures of globalization and the demands of the market. They are increasingly subject to the forces of competition and the need to adapt to changing circumstances. This has led to a shift in the role of the state in planning, from being a provider of public goods and services to being a facilitator of private investment and growth.

In conclusion, the purpose of this book is to explore the complexities of planning theory and practice in a globalized world. It seeks to provide a framework for understanding the challenges and opportunities that planners face in a rapidly changing world. By examining the empirical material from Greece and the broader context of globalization, the book aims to contribute to the ongoing debate about the future of planning and the role of the state in shaping the urban and regional landscape.

Weight: 816g
Dimension: 235 x 155 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783030943301
Edition number: 1st ed. 2022