Evaluation is a critical stage in urban and regional planning and development, with the consideration of alternative proposals essential for informed debate and decision. Evaluation in planning has become even more important with the new paradigm attempting to integrate economic efficiency with equity, sustainability and social responsibility. The craft of pre-development evaluation has long been influenced by Nathaniel Lichfield, and in his honour, this book brings together prominent researchers and practitioners to discuss evaluation in planning: its conceptual foundations and subsequent development, its strengths and persisting dilemmas, and its best practices and their potential for improving future planning and development. The chapters trace evaluation in planning from its historical origin to current applications. Part one reviews the evolution of evaluation theory and practice, and part two contains a selection of best-practice application. The final integrating chapter notes key problems, and offers directions for future development in evaluation research and practice.

Evaluation in the Planning Process examines the role of evaluation in the overall planning process and the implications of evaluation for the organization and management of studies. Emphasis is placed on the nature of evaluation and the functions it should fulfill in the urban and regional planning process, as well as the interrelationships that should exist between evaluation and other planning activities. This book consists of 12 chapters organized into three sections. The first section focuses on principles governing the use of evaluation in the planning process and includes a model of general urban and regional planning. Various methods that are available for evaluating planning proposals are considered, with emphasis on the social cost-benefit approach and the planning balance sheet method. The chapters that follow explore the role of measurement in plan evaluation and review seven planning studies to critically examine UK experience in the application of evaluation methods to urban and regional planning problems. This book concludes by presenting the principles and guidelines for the short-listing of options and assessing the influence of various practical circumstances on the planning process. Some final recommendations on the organization and structure of the planning process, and the nature and role of evaluation within it, are offered. This book is intended for specialists, planners, and those who are engaged in the task of aiding decisions on urban and regional planning problems. This text will appeal especially to those who are concerned with formulating planning processes and with the management of studies.

Effective practitioners in any field understand that lessons from the past underlie successes in the future. Which practices have worked before and which haven’t? What does that teach us? Evaluating Urban and Regional Plans blends theory and practice to delineate the questions that planners need to ask as they shape the future of Canadian communities. Monitoring the outputs and outcomes generated by a plan – and gauging their impact – ensures that the planning function remains relevant, and that resources are used effectively, efficiently, and equitably. This invaluable resource offers a wealth of pragmatic guidance on plan evaluation processes and methods.

Smart Evaluation and Integrated Design in Regional Development puts forward an alternative approach to evaluation in spatial planning - one that focuses on ‘territory’ and ‘landscape’. The book introduces an innovative evaluation approach, namely Territorial Integrated Evaluation (TIE), a meta-evaluation methodology for designing regional development scenarios. A research team from the Politecnico di Torino applied this methodology experimentally to the practices of spatial planning in Trentino in order to aid the Province in a process of institutional innovation that is still going on today. TIE defines territorial scenarios serving the need for regional economic development as well as the conservation of nature and landscape. A cross-border region, Trentino has a special need to harmonize economic development with the exceptional and internationally renowned value of its landscape which includes the Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Therefore TIE set out to design regional development scenarios that integrated various topics - retail, tourism, infrastructures, nature and landscape. By testing out TIE in practice in this extraordinarily dynamic institutional context, the book makes a significant contribution to the discussion about newly emerging approaches to spatial planning that involve multidisciplinary vision, new paradigms in regional development, and institutional learning and capability in decision-making.

Evaluation of the programmes and processes of regional planning in respect of the guayana developing area of Venezuela - presents a general study of the region, analyses the planning methodology (incl. The use of EDP), includes legal aspects, administrative aspects, and political aspects of regional development, and covers urbanization, urban planning, industrialization, infrastructure development, educational planning, etc. Maps, references and statistical tables.