Information systems and policy processes in planning.

مرکز و کتابخانه مطالعات اسلامی به زبان های اروپایی

منو

" Information systems and policy processes in planning. "
Stephenson, Richard Lawrence.

Document Type	:	Latin Dissertation
Record Number	:	1094301
Doc. No	:	TLets325434
Main Entry	:	Stephenson, Richard Lawrence.
Title & Author	:	Information systems and policy processes in planning.\ Stephenson, Richard Lawrence.
College	:	Oxford Brookes University
Date	:	1999
student score	:	1999
Degree	:	Ph.D.
Abstract	:	This thesis examines the use of information, particularly that of a technical kind, in decisionsand policies in land use planning, and reports on empirical analysis on the making ofdevelopment plan policies by local authority planning departments.The research examines the role of technical information in planning processes and starts byidentifying different ideas put forward about the potential contribution of computerisedsystems to the provision of such information. It is concluded that the literature on decisionprocesses in planning has a number of weaknesses in relation to how the use of informationis understood. Research on the use of information in planning has found a complex picturewhich is at odds with many normative theories of planning. However, an empirically basedtheory of the use of technical information in planning, including that from computerisedsources, is poorly developed.The thesis argues that the idea of a set of policy processes - structuring access, mode ofdebate and decision criteria in planning decisions - is a powerful analytical tool inunderstanding planning practice. Using this as a base, a conceptual framework relatingthese processes to information use is developed from the available literature and the findingsfrom exploratory interviews. Through a set of six case studies oflocal authority planningdepartments the explanatory power of this framework is assessed. On the basis of this arefined framework is put forward and a final assessment made of it using a detailed analysisof the evolution and adoption of the policies in two development plans, the WakefieldUnitary Development Plan and the Lancashire Structure Plan.The research concludes that the use of technical information is heavily influenced by theregulatory nature of the British planning system, which places a focus on the justification ofpolicies and gives greater importance to technical analysis in some situations than others. Indevelopment plan making the semi-judicial arena of the inquiry or examination in public iscentral. Information from computerised sources can playa distinctive role in planning butthis is dependent on how it is incorporated into the policy processes through whichdecisions are made. Technical information and computerised analysis can play an importantrole in legitimating planning decision and shaping the evolution ofpolicies, but this can onlybe understood within a wider context of social and political processes.
Subject	:	Development plan; Decision making
Added Entry	:	Oxford Brookes University