So will planning die?
On the contrary, I believe it will grow. But the way of the hunter must be married to the way of the nester. The age of the pre-eminent Development Plan, Master Plan or Unitary Land Use Zoning Plan is passing away. The fall of the Berlin Wall, in 1989, was a symbolic end to a period in which scientifically trained technocratic elites aspired to the formulation of Five Year Plans. In the foreseeable future, all kinds of plans will be produced by all kinds of groups. This book is concerned with plans for the conservation and improvement of the landscape as perceived by the individual, the walker, the cyclist, the swimmer, the ornithologist, the parent, the traveller, the photographer, the home-maker, the employer and the employee. It is not concerned with the planning of statistical aggregates.
Planning will become more plural. Forward-looking plans and backward looking plans will be wanted by many groups within society. Some will be able to prepare their own plans. Others will need help. The planners' job will become that of making plans, of assisting others to make plans, of fitting plans together, of supplying information, of resolving conflicts, of helping with implementation. Where conflict resolution proves impossible, or where public funding proves necessary, decisions must be taken by democratic or judicial bodies. Land Use Plans and Master Plans will be joined by Mistress Plans, Servant Plans, Hedgehog Plans, Water Plans and Vision Plans, amongst others.
The forum for all this activity will be the Geographical Information System, accessed through the internet. The lower layers of the GIS model will represent the existing environment. The upper layers will represent plans, ideals and aspirations. Conventional plans look 'downwards' to the existing world and project current trends in a depressing manner. Future plans will look 'upwards' to the world of hopes and dreams. Development projects should be considerate towards the welfare of the existing environment and creative with regard to future environments. GIS technology will enable both to be modelled and displayed.
