- Email: [email protected]
US planning law
Conference reports'/Bookwatch all dwellings) counterbalancing the private agents. Mr Edlinger revealed that Vienna has gone through this period with less trouble than other E u r o p e a n cities.
Social problems in modern suburbs A n o t h e r important subject at the conference was policies for handling deteriorating suburban housing from the post-war period. The general view was that this deterioration is a result not only of technology but also, and even more so, because of a process of social breakdown, a vicious circle that is sometimes aggravated by external factors such as labour market changes and misleading subsidy systems. This process is harmful and expensive for both the owner and the local c o m m u n ity, and t h e r e h a v e been m a n y attempts to counteract it, such as the reduction of rents, a conscious letting
policy to retain a mixed population, self-help projects for tenants, better maintenance and administration, improved housing and environment, and the partial or total destruction of houses. Although the overall picture is roughly the same, every neighbourhood has its own history and characteristics, and it is thus necessary to carefully investigate each area to find a suitable mix of solutions. Professor David D o n n i s o n from Glasgow ended the Mahn6 part of the conference by urging the delegates never to forget those we plan for. If we just send in the bulldozers and neglect to deal with the poverty and lack of influence of the population in the problem areas, then urban renewal will simply m o v e the problems around. Instead, we must listen to local residents, give them some control over investments and help them to take part in changing and maintaining their neighbourhoods. This task calls for planners who are engaged in the
actual problems and who are ready to work with them irrespective of their own profession or speciality. The c o n f e r e n c e then m o v e d to Stockholm for further study tours. O n e tour focused on the significant i m p r o v e m e n t of the polluted waters of Stockholm. Through a prosperous 25year action p r o g r a m m e the waters have been made so clean that it is now possible to swim and fish for salmon in the city centre. These opportunities add extra qualities to the present housing developments in previous harbour areas. The conference ended with a summing-up session and a post-conference tour to Lapland and the Esrange Space Centre in Kiruna.
Bertil Johansson Planning Secretary Department of Physical Planning City of Maim6 Sweden
Bookwatch
the Power o f Eminent Domain (see Cities, Vol 4, No 3, August 1987, p 273; and Paul's Property Rights and Eminent Domain (see Cities, Vol 5,
US planning law
No 3, August 1988, p 294). 111 'New models for local land use decisions', Carol M. Rose examines four models of local land-use processes as different kinds of dispute resolution mechanisms. The starting point is the traditional view in the US that, since local councils are legislative bodies, their land-use decisions are legislative acts. This is an approach which is unfamiliar, indeed strange, in countries which do not have the separation of powers between legislative and executive bodies. But even in the US it has its problems, particularly in the (frequent) case of small development proposals affecting neighbourhoods the corner lot gas station for example. These cases can raise intense local feelings, and have led to alternative models for land-use decisions adjudicative, market, and negotiatory. Rose discusses these in an interesting way, incidentally providing the reader with some insights into the nature of land-use planning in the US, and also with some ideas
Pride of place in this issuc's Bookwatch goes to the 1987 edition of Land
Use and Environment Law Review, edited by Stuart L. Deutsch (Clark Boardman, 435 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014, 1987, 669 pp). This series is well established as the foremost annual collection of legal writings on issues of importance in land use, real property, and the environment. The volume cannot, of course, attempt to be comprehensive, and it does not claim to be. For example, some important papers on the taking issue (when should compensation be payable for restriction of property rights'?) is in a state of flux. It usually is, but recent Supreme Court cases have made it even more so. The editor expresses the hope that papers in the 1988 issue will be able to clear the muddy waters: we shall have to wait to see if such optimism is justified!
62
A n o t h e r subject excluded is Superfund, the federal funding system for cleaning up hazardous waste sites. The legislation on this has recently been a m e n d e d , and thus otherwise excellent papers have become outdated.
Property rights There are 17 papers in this volume: all are substantial aim significant. My selection is inevitably arbitrary. The first is "Property and its relation to constitutionally protected liberty' by C. Edwin Baker. This penetrating paper concludes that property rights can be distinguished from individual liberties and that it is appropriate to give greater protection to the latter than to the former. Readers interested in this field have an increasingly rich library to hand, including Epstein's recent Takings: Private Property and
CITIES February 1989
Book watch which it might be possible to import into countries such as the UK. More familiar to British readers is the 'development agreement' which forms the subject of a paper by Robert M. Kessler. The focus is on largescale, multi-interest, complex projects where developers obtain assurances and 'benefits' from a local planning authority in return for the provision of infrastructure and dedications of open space. The legal context is not the same in the UK and the US, but one issue is common: how far can (or should) a local authority bargain away its planning powers? There seems to be no easy answer to this. 'The 1980s have not been good years for low income housing.' So states Alan Mallach in a paper entitled 'The fallacy of laissez-faire: land use deregulation, housing affordability, and the poor'. The Reagan administration has effectively eliminated federal low-income house building p r o g r a m m e s , while the h o u s i n g voucher scheme is so limited as to be derisory in the face of increasing problems of housing affordability and homelessness. The UK parallels are striking, but the US has one weapon in its depleted armoury for which it is not easy to find UK equivalent: inclusionary housing programmes. These require developers, as a condition of a development approval, to include a given proportion (typically between 10% and 25%) of lower income housing units in their development. Mallach argues that inclusionary zoning is a viable means of providing significant amounts of housing for the poor; and the costs which they impose on developers are neither unfair nor inappropriate. Agricultural land preservation has become a bit of a poor (and extremely costly) joke in many countries. Is there a farmland loss crisis? What is its character? How localized is it? These and a host of related questions have arisen in the wake of extensive urban/ suburban/exurban growth. The UK seems poised on the brink of a major reversal of policy (though still safeguarding the green belts); in the US the situation is more complex. J.C. Juergensmeyer underlines the complexity: there is no national crisis
CITIES February 1989
(indeed, in many areas, the problem is the opposite one of agricultural overproduction); but there are localities where an acute crisis exists for which current farmland preservation approaches are inadequate, for instance in the Florida citrus belt. To deal with such l o c a l i z e d p r o b l e m s , Juergensmeyer thinks that a system for compensating land owners for loss of development rights is essential. He sets out an imaginative scheme for financing this by way of a 'farmland preservation impact fee" to be levied on developers who locate on or endanger agricultural lands. His proposals have more ingenuity than likely political acceptability - as he himself acknowledges. The second part of this volume is concerned with environmental law. Nine articles deal with a wide range of matters including efficiency and flexibility in environmental regulation; the use of criminal law to enforce environmental law; and various issues relating to hazardous waste. For anyone looking for an insight into the problems of land use and environmental planning in the US this book cannot be bettered - except perhaps by its 1988 successor. The current volume (the 18th) contains 17 papers: it also lists 15 other 'near misses'. A review of the latter prompts the suggestion that Clark Boardman might consider expanding their annual enterprise into a two-volume work: one on land use, and the other on the environment. But, given the huge output of first-class writing in these fields, where does one stop?
building regulations, and the California Environmental Quality Act. The writing style is livelier and more engaging than is common in legal texts. This is a comprehensive statement of Californian land-use law.
Design in the high street
Lord Holford once wrote that "design cannot be taught by correspondence; words are inadequate, and being inadequate may become misleading, or even dangerous. For the competent designer a handbook on design is unnecessary, and for the incompetent it is almost useless as a medium of instruction' (Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Design in Town and Village, HMSO, 1953). A study commissioned by the Royal Fine Art Commission, and sponsored by a number of national retailers and developers, seems to belie this. Written by Gordon Michell, Design in the High Street is published by the Architectural Press (1986, 127 pp). Appropriately this is elegantly produced and well illustrated. It aims ~to suggest ways and means by which the standards of design in the high street might be improved'. The first essential is to overcome collective indifference. There has to be an attitude of caring for the environment, and of making shopping a pleasurable experience. This involves attention to details of design, landscaping, street furniture and paving, shopfronts, and signs. It also requires a good standard of maintenance. In the high street, particular attention has to be given to the relationship between new shops and the streetscape: 'the visual chaos California caused by the insertion of shopfronts, The second edition of Longtin's Cali- unrelated both to the buildings which fornia Land Use (1987, 2 vols, 1169 house them and the street to which pp, US$160.00 hardback) is now avail- they should contribute, is in every able from Local Government Publica- high street for all to see'. This does not mean that modern tions, PO Box 306, Malibu, CA 90265. J a m e s L o n g t i n is a l a n d - u s e / designs are improper. On the condevelopment lawyer, and this author- trary, 'the whole business of retailing, itative work benefits from his practice: of what is being offered for sale, its in the words of the blurb, 'it is loaded manufacture, delivery to the shop unit with practice tips and checklists in- and its eventual use is essentially c l u d i n g a n a l y t i c s t e p by s t e p modern'. Indeed, ~there is seldom a approaches to many subjects and case for designing the shopfront in problems'. The subjects covered in- anything other than a modern style' clude planning, zoning, subdivision, but there is an overwhelming case ~for
63
Bookwatch retaining and putting to good decorative use any elements of the original b u i l d i n g still r e m a i n i n g in the framework within which the new shopfront is to be fitted'. Good design, argues Michell, is good business: it is a means of communicating with shoppers: it attracts business since it is appealing and pleasant. The illustrations convey the message nmch more forcefully than words can do. The contrast between developments with and without 'environmental awareness" is striking. But how can this environmental awareness be achieved'? There is a lesson to be learned from the modern shopping malls where strong unified management control has resulted in many very attractive shopping environments. For the high street, an organization embracing the local authority, traders and local organizations could be a powerful force for improvement. Such an organization would be a means for liaison between the wlrious interests involved. It might even take on some aspects of maintenance. Such 'partnerships', Michell argues, are essential if we are to reverse the 'widespread indifference to the environment we find around us'. This short book has an appealing message, attractively and simply related. It deserves wide circulation.
Financing the provision of infrastructure During the 1970s and 1980s the asstnnption that US local governments would bear the primary responsibilities for funding and constructing the infrastructure required for new development was eroded - in the main because of "the fiscal crisis'. Increasingly it has been held that "development should pay its own way'. Therc are several ways in which this can be done. These are examined in a series of reports by the Urban Land Institute: Financing It~frastructure to Support Community Growth by Douglas R. Porter and Richard B. Peiser (1984), l'aying ,[or (3rowth: Using
Development Fees to P)nance b{frastructure by Thomas P. Snydcr and Michael A. Stegman (1986), and now
Special Dixtricts: A Useful Technique
64
for Financing !nJ?astructure by Douglas R. Porter, Ben C. Lin, and Richard B. Peiser (1987). The last of these is for review here.
Special districts Special districts take many forms, but traditionally they are governmental units established to perform specific f u n c t i o n s that existing g e n e r a l purpose local governments are unable or willing to provide. Examples from the 19th century are the toll road and canal corporations. Today there are special districts for education, social services, transportation, parking, fire protection, sewage, water supply, and natural resources. (Perhaps the most famous is the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.) There are currcntly some 30 0t)0 special districts about a third of all governmental units providing public services. The numbers have increased dramatically in recent years in response to "tax rew~lts' and the like. As the new Urban Land Institute report notes, 'apparently, w)tcrs who stand to benefit directly from improvements made by a special district are more willing to pay for those improvements than for higher general property taxes'. The report describes the various fl~rms of special district, and the arguments for and against them. Therc are five casc studies of specific districts, a bibliography, a statistical analysis, and a reproduction of Florida's Community Development District Act and Pennsylvania's Transportation Development District Act. The address of the Urban Land Institutc is 1090 Vermont Avenuc, NW, Washington, DC 20005. Much of the problem of designing equitable and politically acceptable housing policies stems from the historically determined differential treatment of owner occupiers and renters. The tax benefits of owner occupation are enormous (tax relief on mortgage interest and freedom from tax on imputed income). Though these are highly regressive, they are a fixed feature of housing policy m Britain and other countries which are firmly committed to the spread of home ownership. A million council houses have becn sold to tcnants in Britain
over the last decade - pushing up the rate of owner occupation to 58%. (In the US it is 65%.) One result of this has been increased rates of mortgage default, mortgage possession actions in the county courts, and evictions. Much has been written on these and cognate issues, but it is widely spread in journals, magazines, working papers and unpublished monographs. In The Property Owing (sic) Democracy John Doling, Janet Ford, and Bruce Stafford bring together some two dozen such papers in a convenient, though rather expensive, form (Avebury/ Gower, 1988, 251 pp, US$45.00 hardback).
Housing subsidy policies ttousing subsidy policies come and go with bewildering frequency sometimes preceded by thorough reviews, sometimes preceded merely by political catch-phrases. Public intervention m the UK housing market has been pervasive but, though somewhat less overt, much the same can be said about the US. Indeed US policies have often been characterized by a marked spirit of innow~tion and experimentation. Is there anything that the UK can learn from the US p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e e x t e n s i v e Ex-
perimental Housing Allowance Program ( E H A P ) which was carried out in the 1970s? Harold Wolman's slender volume addresses this question (Help
with Housing Costs: Lessons ,[?'om the US Housing Allowance L~periments, Policy Studies Institute, 1()() Park Village East, London NWI 3SR, 1987, 66 pp, £4.95 paperback). The subject is highly complex, but Wolman distills the material in a masterly way. There are several important conclusions of which two are summarized here. First, 'the E H A P experience suggests that, in the absence of provisions requiring recipients to live in housing meeting minimum standards, the allowance payment will be used almost completely as a supplement to income rather than spent to improve housing conditions'. Second, there is a difficult question as to whether a housing allowance should be based on actual rent or a notional rent. The
CITIES February 1989
Bookwatch former may meet real needs, but it is costly and 'it provides incentives for recipients to seek housing beyond their actual needs and also provides incentives for landlords to seek to maximize their return'. There are many such conundrums in this very useful small book. But are the answers in the UK the same as in the US? An extensive study of the US 'Section 8' Neighbourhood Strategy Area Program (NSA) by Donald B. Rosenthal is published under the title Urban
Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization: Turning a Federal Program into Local Projects (Greenwood Press, Westport CT, 1988, 226 pp, US$45.00 hardback). Rosenthal first develops a conceptual framework for examining the federal-local policy relationship. He outlines the formulation of the NSA programme, and discusses the effects of concessions that were eventually made to local interests by the field offices of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He then describes the implementation of the programme, and finally evaluates it from several perspectives: as an example of intergovernmental relations; as a problem in bureaucratic behaviour; and as a reflection of national urban policy. Despite the factors working against the successful implementation of the programme (including the Reagan administration's drastic reduction in funding), NSA contributed substantially to the revitalization of certain neighbourhoods and the stabilization of others. The excessive costs of the programme were found to be largely due to the complexity of bureaucratic procedures. The book is in the Greenwood Press series Contributions in Political
Science. In the same subject area is a slim volume in the Progress in Planning series: The Dynamics of Neighborhood Change and Decline by W. Grigsby, M. Baratz, G. Galster and D. Maclennan (Pergamon, 1987, 76 pp).This is a searching analytical review which examines the various theories relating to neighborhood change. 'Its purpose is to cut through the conceptual morass of definitions and assumptions about neighborhood change.' It demonstrates the
CITIES February 1989
deficiencies in our knowledge of the workings of the housing market, and the inadequacy of most public policies to affect that market. Often this is because policy has conflicting goals or attempts too much. This a tightly argued monograph which repays careful study.
Property rights Many readers have some difficulty in comprehending one national system of property rights. Yet a comparison between two countries can be most rewarding and illuminating. This observation is prompted by a working paper by B.B. Siman, Legal Control
over Property Rights, England and Belgium: A Comparison (Oxford Polytechnic School of Planning, Gipsy Lane, Headington, Oxford OX3 0BP, 1988, 84 pp, £4.00). This monograph is divided into three parts. The first sets out the basic differences between the British and the Belgian legal concepts of property and its public control. The second deals with the different character of plans in the two countries. Of particular interest is the fact that an approved Belgian plan has a much more binding character than its UK counterpart. Thus, 'when a local authority grants a building permission which is not in accordance with a development plan, the neighbour of the developer (builder) may apply for the demolition of that building, which is to be accepted by the court'. By contrast, British development plans have no legally binding force. The final part of the monograph discusses the machinery of appeals in the two countries. This is a most interesting and useful study. The World Future Society is a non-profit educational and scientific organization founded in 1966. It acts as an impartial clearing-house for a variety of different views, and does not take positions on what will happen (or ought to happen) in the future (though its title suggests some degree of optimism). The Future Survey Annual 1986 (edited by Michael Marien, World Future Society, 4916 St Elmo Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814, 1987, 219 pp, US$25.00 paperback) is the seventh in a continuing
series of guides to 'recent literature of trends, forecasts, and policy proposals' and is a remarkable feat of abstraction. It is divided into 17 main sections: world futures, international economics, world regions and nations, defence and disarmament, energy, environment and resources, food and agriculture, society and government, the economy, work, spatial affairs, justice, health, families and education, communications, science and technology, and methods to shape the future. Also included are a list of 'the major hopes and fears of those who study the future', a list of 125 'impacts of new information technologies', and a guide to 355 'futures-relevant' journals. This is a valuable resource. In J.A. Schofield's Cost-Benefit
Analysis in Urban and Regional Planning (Allen and Unwin, London, 1987, 249 pp) both the theory and the practice are set out in a comprehensive and clear manner. Examples are given from a variety of areas including not only land-use planning but also local health and social services, local economic development, regional policy evaluation, and planning in less developed countries. The presentation is pitched at an intermediate level, using predominantly graphical methods of analysis. ECOTEC has become established as a major research and consultancy agency. Its latest report, produced in conjunction with several other consultancies, is The Black Country Urban
Development Corporation: A Strategy for Development (ECOTEC Research and Consulting Ltd, Priory House, 18 Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham B4 6BJ, 1987, 72 pp). The Black Country U r b a n D e v e l o p m e n t Corporation (UDC) extends over some 25 square kilometres of mainly industrial land. Since some four-fifths of the land is derelict (and shared by some 50 different owners) the area is not an obvious winner. The report does not attempt to gloss over the difficulties. Indeed, it is a sober assessment of the problems which the UDC will face. Its major opportunity lies in the development of a regional retail centre of 600 (100 sq,aare metres. The impact that this will have on other areas in the region is not clear. One small point: could
65
Book watch not a better name be found for the area than the Black Country'?
Urban regeneration Four recent HMSO publications deal with urban regeneration. The first is the report of a study carried out by a team from PA Cambridge Economic Consultants: An Evaluation of the Enterprise Zone Experiment (1987, 116 pp, £13.50 paperback). This ewfluates the enterprise zone experiment against the criteria of the generation of economic activity and physical regeneration. As might be expected, the research results are not unequivocal, and the reader is advised to read the small print. The final conclusion, however, is that "real benefits are being provided to designated zones and their surrounding economies. The cost effectiveness of the experiment could be improved by reducing the amount of "deadweight" on both capital allowances and rate relief, which could be differentiated across zones and between economic sectors or even "'tapered" downwards through time." The other three HMSO publications are in a glossy series entitled Good Praetice in Urban Regeneration. Creating Development Trusts (1988, 115 pp, £11.95 paperback) discusses the role of development trusts in halting the decline of urban areas and in improving their amenities. By the use of comprehensive case studies, the report shows the range and diversity of trusts, and identifies 'good practice" in their establishment and management. Developing Businesses (1988, 134 pp, £11.95 paperback) reviews local business development initiatives funded under the Urban Progranmre. These provide support through a combination of business advice and training, technical assistance and financial aid, and may work in conjunction with local authorities, development corporations and enterprise agcncics to stinmlate local economic development. hnproving Urban Areas (1988, 127 pp, £11.95 paperback) deals with measures to combat urban dereliction, abandonment, congestion and a range of similar matters. All three volumes are beautifully produced, and seem to
66
be particularly aimed at the priwlte sector. A new edition of Dennis R. Judd's The Politics o] American Cities (Scott, Foresman, 1988, 435 pp) highlights some of the major issues which have surfaced since the 1984 edition. Particular attention is given to the struggle over national urban and social welfare policy, and to the changing political scene in urban areas. Ann Markusen's Regions: The Economics and Politics of Territory (Rowman and Littlefield, Totowa, NJ, 1987, 304 pp, US$37.50 hardback) is a major study of the political and economic aspects of American regionalism. Both historical and contemporary issues are explored, and the author contends that territorial differentiation and conflicts have emerged as major determinants in the spatial transformation of American regions. Bourgeois Utopias by Robert Fishman (Basic Books, New York, 1987, 241 pp, US$19.95 hardback) is a succinct comparative history of suburbanization: it traces 'the rise and fall of surburbia in eighteenth century London to its end in Los Angeles and the other decentralized urban regions of contemporary America'. A compelling and movmg account of an important chapter of the civil rights movement is given in The Montgome O, Bus Boycott attd the Woman Who Started It: The Memoir ()J,lo Ann Gibson Robinson (University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, TN, 1987, 190 pp, US$24.95 hardback, US$12.95 paperback).
Urban distress Christopher J. Smith's Public Problems. The Management ~t Urban Distress (Guilford Press, New York, 1988, 276 pp, US$19.95 paperback) is an interesting multidisciplinary analysis of a number of difficult urban problems. It would probably be categorized as a work of 'social geography', though the bibliographic data lists it as 'sociology'. No matter: the book is an insightful and useful inquiry into the ways in which urban distress (as evidenced by such problems as alcoholism, juvenile delinquency, and homelessness) can be
'managed'. Rather than arguing for an independent self-contained 'geography of public problems', Smith demonstrates that the addition of geographic information to knowledge m various other social sciencc fields can contribute significantly to a greater understanding of the problems besetting urban areas. Three publications from the Association of Metropolitan Authorities deal with transport. Bus Support and After Deregulation (both 1987, £2.00) provide interim reports on the deregulation of buses. Oiling the Wheels is a policy statement of the Association (1987, £5.0(1). All are available from the Association, 35 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BJ.
Only one earth A new volume in the University of Western Ontario's Local Government Case Studies is CiO, Policy-Making in Theory atzd Practice: The Case of Toronto's Downtown Plan by Frances Frisken (1988, 101 pp). This traces the history of planning in Toronto (with a particular focus on the downtown) from the early 194(ls to 1987. It is available from The University of Western Ontario, Department of Political Science, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5C2. Heritage Conservation: The Natural Environment by E. Neville Ward and Beth Killham (Heritage Resources C e n t r e , University of Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3GI, 1987, 186 pp, C$12.50 paperback) is a compendium of information on Canada's natural heritage areas. It draws together the legislation, policies and programmcs of the multiplicity of public agencies inw)lved. Making the Grade: The 1988 Development Report Card for the States (The Corporation for Enterprise Development, Suite 1410, 1725 K Street, Washington DC 20006, 1988, 129 pp, US$25.00 paperback) grades every state on four indices which together comprise the 'economic climate': economic performance, business vitality, resource capacity and state policy. These indices are based on over 100 economic and policy indicators. Remaking Urban Scotland by
CITIES February 1989
Bookwatch/Book reviews Michael Keating and Robin Boyle (Edinburgh University Press/ C o l u m b i a University Press, New York, 1986, 174 pp, US$25.00 hardback) is an analysis of 'strategies for local economic development'. It examines the initiatives of central and local government and of the Scottish Development Agency, and warns of 'the danger of a disintegration of the social, physical and economic strands of policy' which, in the authors' view, should be considered together. Herbert Loebel's Government Factories and the Origins o f British Regional Policy 1934-1948 (Gower, 1988, 418 pp, US$75.00 hardback) traces the close connection between the early history of government-financed factories in the northeast of England and the evolution of regional policy. It is a very detailed but eminently readable study though its price is unappealing!
Only One Earth was the title of the American Public Broadcasting Service and the British Broadcasting Corporation l 1-part television series. The accompanying book (with the same title) by Lloyd Timberlake is published by Sterling Publishing Co, 2 Park Avenue, New York 10016 and BBC Books, 35 Marylebone High Street, London W1M 4 A A (1987, 168 pp, US$12.95 paperback). The book illustrates 'how development can be made to work, and to show how people in nine different countries, rich and poor, have been taking charge of their destinies, improving their lives while living within their environmental means'. The success stories contrast with the environmental degradation which has so often accompanied development programmes. Any student of federal urban policy in the US (what is left of it) needs to
understand the budget and the budget process. This arduous task is made much easier by Stanley E. Collender's Guide to the Federal Budget Fiscal 1989 (Urban Institute Press, Washington DC, 1988, 195 pp, US$26.50 hardback, US$12.95 paperback). For those not wishing to delve into the details, the first chapter (entitled 'The federal budget as a second language') provides a succinct and clear introductory outline.
J. Barry Cullingworth Unidel Professor of Urban Affairs and Public Policy University of Delaware Newark, DE 19716, USA 1The Future Survey Annual 1987 arrived as we went to press (1988, 195 pp, US$25.00 paperback). It follows the same format as the 1986 issue.
Book reviews What does planning achieve? BRITISH TOWN PLANNING
AND
COUNTRY
by Eric Reade
Open University Press, Milton Keynes, UK, 1987, 270 pp, £9.95 When I was training to be a town planner, a fellow student (who was a serving local government officer) expressed the opinion to me that to be a planner one had be a Socialist. Yet there are, of course, many politically Conservative planners, and the toughest planning authorities, certainly if measured by refusal rates on planning applications, are Conservative controlled in the UK. The present British Government's radical zeal has made changes in the planning system, but not in its essentials, which remain much as created by the post-war Socialist administration of Attlee, but without the crucial control of development value and with a much reduced role for public sector development.
CITIES February 1989
The implications of this reworking of Britain's planning system have a l r e a d y been e x p l o r e d in Peter Ambrose's Whatever Happened to Planning? (reviewed in Cities, Vol 4, No 4, November 1987), which was particularly good in analysing how planning's technical emphasis disguises the power relationships at work in shaping the built environment. Reade's book, written neither by a planning professional n o r an academic, takes a somewhat different approach, being a critique of planning's 'vague and confused professional ideology'. It is scathing on the failure of the town planning profession to develop a theory for its own activities, and its claim to an impossibly wide area of expertise. The message of the book (which I support) is simple enough: planners should restrict their activities to the distributive implications of government intervention in the ownership, use and development of land, and therefore give more attention to analysing the conse-
quences of their individual policies and actions. Reade singles out Peter Hall's The Containment o f Urban England I as 'the most thorough investigation of the effects of the British planning system to date', whose depressing conclusions have been largely ignored by planners. Hall found that planning had failed to control the price of land, leading to higher development densities, and probably reducing the rate of economic growth, mainly because of the inflationary effect of rising land and property prices. It had also resulted in regressive social redistribution, both of physicoenvironmental advantages and disadvantages, and in more purely financial terms. The system has been maintained even by the anti-planning Conservative government in power since 1979 for several reasons, identified by Patsy Healey in her Local Plans in British Land Use Planning2: a)
b)
the strong lobby behind countryside protection and the protection of agricultural land; the inertia built up within local
67
Social problems in modern suburbs A n o t h e r important subject at the conference was policies for handling deteriorating suburban housing from the post-war period. The general view was that this deterioration is a result not only of technology but also, and even more so, because of a process of social breakdown, a vicious circle that is sometimes aggravated by external factors such as labour market changes and misleading subsidy systems. This process is harmful and expensive for both the owner and the local c o m m u n ity, and t h e r e h a v e been m a n y attempts to counteract it, such as the reduction of rents, a conscious letting
policy to retain a mixed population, self-help projects for tenants, better maintenance and administration, improved housing and environment, and the partial or total destruction of houses. Although the overall picture is roughly the same, every neighbourhood has its own history and characteristics, and it is thus necessary to carefully investigate each area to find a suitable mix of solutions. Professor David D o n n i s o n from Glasgow ended the Mahn6 part of the conference by urging the delegates never to forget those we plan for. If we just send in the bulldozers and neglect to deal with the poverty and lack of influence of the population in the problem areas, then urban renewal will simply m o v e the problems around. Instead, we must listen to local residents, give them some control over investments and help them to take part in changing and maintaining their neighbourhoods. This task calls for planners who are engaged in the
actual problems and who are ready to work with them irrespective of their own profession or speciality. The c o n f e r e n c e then m o v e d to Stockholm for further study tours. O n e tour focused on the significant i m p r o v e m e n t of the polluted waters of Stockholm. Through a prosperous 25year action p r o g r a m m e the waters have been made so clean that it is now possible to swim and fish for salmon in the city centre. These opportunities add extra qualities to the present housing developments in previous harbour areas. The conference ended with a summing-up session and a post-conference tour to Lapland and the Esrange Space Centre in Kiruna.
Bertil Johansson Planning Secretary Department of Physical Planning City of Maim6 Sweden
Bookwatch
the Power o f Eminent Domain (see Cities, Vol 4, No 3, August 1987, p 273; and Paul's Property Rights and Eminent Domain (see Cities, Vol 5,
US planning law
No 3, August 1988, p 294). 111 'New models for local land use decisions', Carol M. Rose examines four models of local land-use processes as different kinds of dispute resolution mechanisms. The starting point is the traditional view in the US that, since local councils are legislative bodies, their land-use decisions are legislative acts. This is an approach which is unfamiliar, indeed strange, in countries which do not have the separation of powers between legislative and executive bodies. But even in the US it has its problems, particularly in the (frequent) case of small development proposals affecting neighbourhoods the corner lot gas station for example. These cases can raise intense local feelings, and have led to alternative models for land-use decisions adjudicative, market, and negotiatory. Rose discusses these in an interesting way, incidentally providing the reader with some insights into the nature of land-use planning in the US, and also with some ideas
Pride of place in this issuc's Bookwatch goes to the 1987 edition of Land
Use and Environment Law Review, edited by Stuart L. Deutsch (Clark Boardman, 435 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014, 1987, 669 pp). This series is well established as the foremost annual collection of legal writings on issues of importance in land use, real property, and the environment. The volume cannot, of course, attempt to be comprehensive, and it does not claim to be. For example, some important papers on the taking issue (when should compensation be payable for restriction of property rights'?) is in a state of flux. It usually is, but recent Supreme Court cases have made it even more so. The editor expresses the hope that papers in the 1988 issue will be able to clear the muddy waters: we shall have to wait to see if such optimism is justified!
62
A n o t h e r subject excluded is Superfund, the federal funding system for cleaning up hazardous waste sites. The legislation on this has recently been a m e n d e d , and thus otherwise excellent papers have become outdated.
Property rights There are 17 papers in this volume: all are substantial aim significant. My selection is inevitably arbitrary. The first is "Property and its relation to constitutionally protected liberty' by C. Edwin Baker. This penetrating paper concludes that property rights can be distinguished from individual liberties and that it is appropriate to give greater protection to the latter than to the former. Readers interested in this field have an increasingly rich library to hand, including Epstein's recent Takings: Private Property and
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Book watch which it might be possible to import into countries such as the UK. More familiar to British readers is the 'development agreement' which forms the subject of a paper by Robert M. Kessler. The focus is on largescale, multi-interest, complex projects where developers obtain assurances and 'benefits' from a local planning authority in return for the provision of infrastructure and dedications of open space. The legal context is not the same in the UK and the US, but one issue is common: how far can (or should) a local authority bargain away its planning powers? There seems to be no easy answer to this. 'The 1980s have not been good years for low income housing.' So states Alan Mallach in a paper entitled 'The fallacy of laissez-faire: land use deregulation, housing affordability, and the poor'. The Reagan administration has effectively eliminated federal low-income house building p r o g r a m m e s , while the h o u s i n g voucher scheme is so limited as to be derisory in the face of increasing problems of housing affordability and homelessness. The UK parallels are striking, but the US has one weapon in its depleted armoury for which it is not easy to find UK equivalent: inclusionary housing programmes. These require developers, as a condition of a development approval, to include a given proportion (typically between 10% and 25%) of lower income housing units in their development. Mallach argues that inclusionary zoning is a viable means of providing significant amounts of housing for the poor; and the costs which they impose on developers are neither unfair nor inappropriate. Agricultural land preservation has become a bit of a poor (and extremely costly) joke in many countries. Is there a farmland loss crisis? What is its character? How localized is it? These and a host of related questions have arisen in the wake of extensive urban/ suburban/exurban growth. The UK seems poised on the brink of a major reversal of policy (though still safeguarding the green belts); in the US the situation is more complex. J.C. Juergensmeyer underlines the complexity: there is no national crisis
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(indeed, in many areas, the problem is the opposite one of agricultural overproduction); but there are localities where an acute crisis exists for which current farmland preservation approaches are inadequate, for instance in the Florida citrus belt. To deal with such l o c a l i z e d p r o b l e m s , Juergensmeyer thinks that a system for compensating land owners for loss of development rights is essential. He sets out an imaginative scheme for financing this by way of a 'farmland preservation impact fee" to be levied on developers who locate on or endanger agricultural lands. His proposals have more ingenuity than likely political acceptability - as he himself acknowledges. The second part of this volume is concerned with environmental law. Nine articles deal with a wide range of matters including efficiency and flexibility in environmental regulation; the use of criminal law to enforce environmental law; and various issues relating to hazardous waste. For anyone looking for an insight into the problems of land use and environmental planning in the US this book cannot be bettered - except perhaps by its 1988 successor. The current volume (the 18th) contains 17 papers: it also lists 15 other 'near misses'. A review of the latter prompts the suggestion that Clark Boardman might consider expanding their annual enterprise into a two-volume work: one on land use, and the other on the environment. But, given the huge output of first-class writing in these fields, where does one stop?
building regulations, and the California Environmental Quality Act. The writing style is livelier and more engaging than is common in legal texts. This is a comprehensive statement of Californian land-use law.
Design in the high street
Lord Holford once wrote that "design cannot be taught by correspondence; words are inadequate, and being inadequate may become misleading, or even dangerous. For the competent designer a handbook on design is unnecessary, and for the incompetent it is almost useless as a medium of instruction' (Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Design in Town and Village, HMSO, 1953). A study commissioned by the Royal Fine Art Commission, and sponsored by a number of national retailers and developers, seems to belie this. Written by Gordon Michell, Design in the High Street is published by the Architectural Press (1986, 127 pp). Appropriately this is elegantly produced and well illustrated. It aims ~to suggest ways and means by which the standards of design in the high street might be improved'. The first essential is to overcome collective indifference. There has to be an attitude of caring for the environment, and of making shopping a pleasurable experience. This involves attention to details of design, landscaping, street furniture and paving, shopfronts, and signs. It also requires a good standard of maintenance. In the high street, particular attention has to be given to the relationship between new shops and the streetscape: 'the visual chaos California caused by the insertion of shopfronts, The second edition of Longtin's Cali- unrelated both to the buildings which fornia Land Use (1987, 2 vols, 1169 house them and the street to which pp, US$160.00 hardback) is now avail- they should contribute, is in every able from Local Government Publica- high street for all to see'. This does not mean that modern tions, PO Box 306, Malibu, CA 90265. J a m e s L o n g t i n is a l a n d - u s e / designs are improper. On the condevelopment lawyer, and this author- trary, 'the whole business of retailing, itative work benefits from his practice: of what is being offered for sale, its in the words of the blurb, 'it is loaded manufacture, delivery to the shop unit with practice tips and checklists in- and its eventual use is essentially c l u d i n g a n a l y t i c s t e p by s t e p modern'. Indeed, ~there is seldom a approaches to many subjects and case for designing the shopfront in problems'. The subjects covered in- anything other than a modern style' clude planning, zoning, subdivision, but there is an overwhelming case ~for
63
Bookwatch retaining and putting to good decorative use any elements of the original b u i l d i n g still r e m a i n i n g in the framework within which the new shopfront is to be fitted'. Good design, argues Michell, is good business: it is a means of communicating with shoppers: it attracts business since it is appealing and pleasant. The illustrations convey the message nmch more forcefully than words can do. The contrast between developments with and without 'environmental awareness" is striking. But how can this environmental awareness be achieved'? There is a lesson to be learned from the modern shopping malls where strong unified management control has resulted in many very attractive shopping environments. For the high street, an organization embracing the local authority, traders and local organizations could be a powerful force for improvement. Such an organization would be a means for liaison between the wlrious interests involved. It might even take on some aspects of maintenance. Such 'partnerships', Michell argues, are essential if we are to reverse the 'widespread indifference to the environment we find around us'. This short book has an appealing message, attractively and simply related. It deserves wide circulation.
Financing the provision of infrastructure During the 1970s and 1980s the asstnnption that US local governments would bear the primary responsibilities for funding and constructing the infrastructure required for new development was eroded - in the main because of "the fiscal crisis'. Increasingly it has been held that "development should pay its own way'. Therc are several ways in which this can be done. These are examined in a series of reports by the Urban Land Institute: Financing It~frastructure to Support Community Growth by Douglas R. Porter and Richard B. Peiser (1984), l'aying ,[or (3rowth: Using
Development Fees to P)nance b{frastructure by Thomas P. Snydcr and Michael A. Stegman (1986), and now
Special Dixtricts: A Useful Technique
64
for Financing !nJ?astructure by Douglas R. Porter, Ben C. Lin, and Richard B. Peiser (1987). The last of these is for review here.
Special districts Special districts take many forms, but traditionally they are governmental units established to perform specific f u n c t i o n s that existing g e n e r a l purpose local governments are unable or willing to provide. Examples from the 19th century are the toll road and canal corporations. Today there are special districts for education, social services, transportation, parking, fire protection, sewage, water supply, and natural resources. (Perhaps the most famous is the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.) There are currcntly some 30 0t)0 special districts about a third of all governmental units providing public services. The numbers have increased dramatically in recent years in response to "tax rew~lts' and the like. As the new Urban Land Institute report notes, 'apparently, w)tcrs who stand to benefit directly from improvements made by a special district are more willing to pay for those improvements than for higher general property taxes'. The report describes the various fl~rms of special district, and the arguments for and against them. Therc are five casc studies of specific districts, a bibliography, a statistical analysis, and a reproduction of Florida's Community Development District Act and Pennsylvania's Transportation Development District Act. The address of the Urban Land Institutc is 1090 Vermont Avenuc, NW, Washington, DC 20005. Much of the problem of designing equitable and politically acceptable housing policies stems from the historically determined differential treatment of owner occupiers and renters. The tax benefits of owner occupation are enormous (tax relief on mortgage interest and freedom from tax on imputed income). Though these are highly regressive, they are a fixed feature of housing policy m Britain and other countries which are firmly committed to the spread of home ownership. A million council houses have becn sold to tcnants in Britain
over the last decade - pushing up the rate of owner occupation to 58%. (In the US it is 65%.) One result of this has been increased rates of mortgage default, mortgage possession actions in the county courts, and evictions. Much has been written on these and cognate issues, but it is widely spread in journals, magazines, working papers and unpublished monographs. In The Property Owing (sic) Democracy John Doling, Janet Ford, and Bruce Stafford bring together some two dozen such papers in a convenient, though rather expensive, form (Avebury/ Gower, 1988, 251 pp, US$45.00 hardback).
Housing subsidy policies ttousing subsidy policies come and go with bewildering frequency sometimes preceded by thorough reviews, sometimes preceded merely by political catch-phrases. Public intervention m the UK housing market has been pervasive but, though somewhat less overt, much the same can be said about the US. Indeed US policies have often been characterized by a marked spirit of innow~tion and experimentation. Is there anything that the UK can learn from the US p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e e x t e n s i v e Ex-
perimental Housing Allowance Program ( E H A P ) which was carried out in the 1970s? Harold Wolman's slender volume addresses this question (Help
with Housing Costs: Lessons ,[?'om the US Housing Allowance L~periments, Policy Studies Institute, 1()() Park Village East, London NWI 3SR, 1987, 66 pp, £4.95 paperback). The subject is highly complex, but Wolman distills the material in a masterly way. There are several important conclusions of which two are summarized here. First, 'the E H A P experience suggests that, in the absence of provisions requiring recipients to live in housing meeting minimum standards, the allowance payment will be used almost completely as a supplement to income rather than spent to improve housing conditions'. Second, there is a difficult question as to whether a housing allowance should be based on actual rent or a notional rent. The
CITIES February 1989
Bookwatch former may meet real needs, but it is costly and 'it provides incentives for recipients to seek housing beyond their actual needs and also provides incentives for landlords to seek to maximize their return'. There are many such conundrums in this very useful small book. But are the answers in the UK the same as in the US? An extensive study of the US 'Section 8' Neighbourhood Strategy Area Program (NSA) by Donald B. Rosenthal is published under the title Urban
Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization: Turning a Federal Program into Local Projects (Greenwood Press, Westport CT, 1988, 226 pp, US$45.00 hardback). Rosenthal first develops a conceptual framework for examining the federal-local policy relationship. He outlines the formulation of the NSA programme, and discusses the effects of concessions that were eventually made to local interests by the field offices of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He then describes the implementation of the programme, and finally evaluates it from several perspectives: as an example of intergovernmental relations; as a problem in bureaucratic behaviour; and as a reflection of national urban policy. Despite the factors working against the successful implementation of the programme (including the Reagan administration's drastic reduction in funding), NSA contributed substantially to the revitalization of certain neighbourhoods and the stabilization of others. The excessive costs of the programme were found to be largely due to the complexity of bureaucratic procedures. The book is in the Greenwood Press series Contributions in Political
Science. In the same subject area is a slim volume in the Progress in Planning series: The Dynamics of Neighborhood Change and Decline by W. Grigsby, M. Baratz, G. Galster and D. Maclennan (Pergamon, 1987, 76 pp).This is a searching analytical review which examines the various theories relating to neighborhood change. 'Its purpose is to cut through the conceptual morass of definitions and assumptions about neighborhood change.' It demonstrates the
CITIES February 1989
deficiencies in our knowledge of the workings of the housing market, and the inadequacy of most public policies to affect that market. Often this is because policy has conflicting goals or attempts too much. This a tightly argued monograph which repays careful study.
Property rights Many readers have some difficulty in comprehending one national system of property rights. Yet a comparison between two countries can be most rewarding and illuminating. This observation is prompted by a working paper by B.B. Siman, Legal Control
over Property Rights, England and Belgium: A Comparison (Oxford Polytechnic School of Planning, Gipsy Lane, Headington, Oxford OX3 0BP, 1988, 84 pp, £4.00). This monograph is divided into three parts. The first sets out the basic differences between the British and the Belgian legal concepts of property and its public control. The second deals with the different character of plans in the two countries. Of particular interest is the fact that an approved Belgian plan has a much more binding character than its UK counterpart. Thus, 'when a local authority grants a building permission which is not in accordance with a development plan, the neighbour of the developer (builder) may apply for the demolition of that building, which is to be accepted by the court'. By contrast, British development plans have no legally binding force. The final part of the monograph discusses the machinery of appeals in the two countries. This is a most interesting and useful study. The World Future Society is a non-profit educational and scientific organization founded in 1966. It acts as an impartial clearing-house for a variety of different views, and does not take positions on what will happen (or ought to happen) in the future (though its title suggests some degree of optimism). The Future Survey Annual 1986 (edited by Michael Marien, World Future Society, 4916 St Elmo Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814, 1987, 219 pp, US$25.00 paperback) is the seventh in a continuing
series of guides to 'recent literature of trends, forecasts, and policy proposals' and is a remarkable feat of abstraction. It is divided into 17 main sections: world futures, international economics, world regions and nations, defence and disarmament, energy, environment and resources, food and agriculture, society and government, the economy, work, spatial affairs, justice, health, families and education, communications, science and technology, and methods to shape the future. Also included are a list of 'the major hopes and fears of those who study the future', a list of 125 'impacts of new information technologies', and a guide to 355 'futures-relevant' journals. This is a valuable resource. In J.A. Schofield's Cost-Benefit
Analysis in Urban and Regional Planning (Allen and Unwin, London, 1987, 249 pp) both the theory and the practice are set out in a comprehensive and clear manner. Examples are given from a variety of areas including not only land-use planning but also local health and social services, local economic development, regional policy evaluation, and planning in less developed countries. The presentation is pitched at an intermediate level, using predominantly graphical methods of analysis. ECOTEC has become established as a major research and consultancy agency. Its latest report, produced in conjunction with several other consultancies, is The Black Country Urban
Development Corporation: A Strategy for Development (ECOTEC Research and Consulting Ltd, Priory House, 18 Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham B4 6BJ, 1987, 72 pp). The Black Country U r b a n D e v e l o p m e n t Corporation (UDC) extends over some 25 square kilometres of mainly industrial land. Since some four-fifths of the land is derelict (and shared by some 50 different owners) the area is not an obvious winner. The report does not attempt to gloss over the difficulties. Indeed, it is a sober assessment of the problems which the UDC will face. Its major opportunity lies in the development of a regional retail centre of 600 (100 sq,aare metres. The impact that this will have on other areas in the region is not clear. One small point: could
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Book watch not a better name be found for the area than the Black Country'?
Urban regeneration Four recent HMSO publications deal with urban regeneration. The first is the report of a study carried out by a team from PA Cambridge Economic Consultants: An Evaluation of the Enterprise Zone Experiment (1987, 116 pp, £13.50 paperback). This ewfluates the enterprise zone experiment against the criteria of the generation of economic activity and physical regeneration. As might be expected, the research results are not unequivocal, and the reader is advised to read the small print. The final conclusion, however, is that "real benefits are being provided to designated zones and their surrounding economies. The cost effectiveness of the experiment could be improved by reducing the amount of "deadweight" on both capital allowances and rate relief, which could be differentiated across zones and between economic sectors or even "'tapered" downwards through time." The other three HMSO publications are in a glossy series entitled Good Praetice in Urban Regeneration. Creating Development Trusts (1988, 115 pp, £11.95 paperback) discusses the role of development trusts in halting the decline of urban areas and in improving their amenities. By the use of comprehensive case studies, the report shows the range and diversity of trusts, and identifies 'good practice" in their establishment and management. Developing Businesses (1988, 134 pp, £11.95 paperback) reviews local business development initiatives funded under the Urban Progranmre. These provide support through a combination of business advice and training, technical assistance and financial aid, and may work in conjunction with local authorities, development corporations and enterprise agcncics to stinmlate local economic development. hnproving Urban Areas (1988, 127 pp, £11.95 paperback) deals with measures to combat urban dereliction, abandonment, congestion and a range of similar matters. All three volumes are beautifully produced, and seem to
66
be particularly aimed at the priwlte sector. A new edition of Dennis R. Judd's The Politics o] American Cities (Scott, Foresman, 1988, 435 pp) highlights some of the major issues which have surfaced since the 1984 edition. Particular attention is given to the struggle over national urban and social welfare policy, and to the changing political scene in urban areas. Ann Markusen's Regions: The Economics and Politics of Territory (Rowman and Littlefield, Totowa, NJ, 1987, 304 pp, US$37.50 hardback) is a major study of the political and economic aspects of American regionalism. Both historical and contemporary issues are explored, and the author contends that territorial differentiation and conflicts have emerged as major determinants in the spatial transformation of American regions. Bourgeois Utopias by Robert Fishman (Basic Books, New York, 1987, 241 pp, US$19.95 hardback) is a succinct comparative history of suburbanization: it traces 'the rise and fall of surburbia in eighteenth century London to its end in Los Angeles and the other decentralized urban regions of contemporary America'. A compelling and movmg account of an important chapter of the civil rights movement is given in The Montgome O, Bus Boycott attd the Woman Who Started It: The Memoir ()J,lo Ann Gibson Robinson (University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, TN, 1987, 190 pp, US$24.95 hardback, US$12.95 paperback).
Urban distress Christopher J. Smith's Public Problems. The Management ~t Urban Distress (Guilford Press, New York, 1988, 276 pp, US$19.95 paperback) is an interesting multidisciplinary analysis of a number of difficult urban problems. It would probably be categorized as a work of 'social geography', though the bibliographic data lists it as 'sociology'. No matter: the book is an insightful and useful inquiry into the ways in which urban distress (as evidenced by such problems as alcoholism, juvenile delinquency, and homelessness) can be
'managed'. Rather than arguing for an independent self-contained 'geography of public problems', Smith demonstrates that the addition of geographic information to knowledge m various other social sciencc fields can contribute significantly to a greater understanding of the problems besetting urban areas. Three publications from the Association of Metropolitan Authorities deal with transport. Bus Support and After Deregulation (both 1987, £2.00) provide interim reports on the deregulation of buses. Oiling the Wheels is a policy statement of the Association (1987, £5.0(1). All are available from the Association, 35 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BJ.
Only one earth A new volume in the University of Western Ontario's Local Government Case Studies is CiO, Policy-Making in Theory atzd Practice: The Case of Toronto's Downtown Plan by Frances Frisken (1988, 101 pp). This traces the history of planning in Toronto (with a particular focus on the downtown) from the early 194(ls to 1987. It is available from The University of Western Ontario, Department of Political Science, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5C2. Heritage Conservation: The Natural Environment by E. Neville Ward and Beth Killham (Heritage Resources C e n t r e , University of Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3GI, 1987, 186 pp, C$12.50 paperback) is a compendium of information on Canada's natural heritage areas. It draws together the legislation, policies and programmcs of the multiplicity of public agencies inw)lved. Making the Grade: The 1988 Development Report Card for the States (The Corporation for Enterprise Development, Suite 1410, 1725 K Street, Washington DC 20006, 1988, 129 pp, US$25.00 paperback) grades every state on four indices which together comprise the 'economic climate': economic performance, business vitality, resource capacity and state policy. These indices are based on over 100 economic and policy indicators. Remaking Urban Scotland by
CITIES February 1989
Bookwatch/Book reviews Michael Keating and Robin Boyle (Edinburgh University Press/ C o l u m b i a University Press, New York, 1986, 174 pp, US$25.00 hardback) is an analysis of 'strategies for local economic development'. It examines the initiatives of central and local government and of the Scottish Development Agency, and warns of 'the danger of a disintegration of the social, physical and economic strands of policy' which, in the authors' view, should be considered together. Herbert Loebel's Government Factories and the Origins o f British Regional Policy 1934-1948 (Gower, 1988, 418 pp, US$75.00 hardback) traces the close connection between the early history of government-financed factories in the northeast of England and the evolution of regional policy. It is a very detailed but eminently readable study though its price is unappealing!
Only One Earth was the title of the American Public Broadcasting Service and the British Broadcasting Corporation l 1-part television series. The accompanying book (with the same title) by Lloyd Timberlake is published by Sterling Publishing Co, 2 Park Avenue, New York 10016 and BBC Books, 35 Marylebone High Street, London W1M 4 A A (1987, 168 pp, US$12.95 paperback). The book illustrates 'how development can be made to work, and to show how people in nine different countries, rich and poor, have been taking charge of their destinies, improving their lives while living within their environmental means'. The success stories contrast with the environmental degradation which has so often accompanied development programmes. Any student of federal urban policy in the US (what is left of it) needs to
understand the budget and the budget process. This arduous task is made much easier by Stanley E. Collender's Guide to the Federal Budget Fiscal 1989 (Urban Institute Press, Washington DC, 1988, 195 pp, US$26.50 hardback, US$12.95 paperback). For those not wishing to delve into the details, the first chapter (entitled 'The federal budget as a second language') provides a succinct and clear introductory outline.
J. Barry Cullingworth Unidel Professor of Urban Affairs and Public Policy University of Delaware Newark, DE 19716, USA 1The Future Survey Annual 1987 arrived as we went to press (1988, 195 pp, US$25.00 paperback). It follows the same format as the 1986 issue.
Book reviews What does planning achieve? BRITISH TOWN PLANNING
AND
COUNTRY
by Eric Reade
Open University Press, Milton Keynes, UK, 1987, 270 pp, £9.95 When I was training to be a town planner, a fellow student (who was a serving local government officer) expressed the opinion to me that to be a planner one had be a Socialist. Yet there are, of course, many politically Conservative planners, and the toughest planning authorities, certainly if measured by refusal rates on planning applications, are Conservative controlled in the UK. The present British Government's radical zeal has made changes in the planning system, but not in its essentials, which remain much as created by the post-war Socialist administration of Attlee, but without the crucial control of development value and with a much reduced role for public sector development.
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The implications of this reworking of Britain's planning system have a l r e a d y been e x p l o r e d in Peter Ambrose's Whatever Happened to Planning? (reviewed in Cities, Vol 4, No 4, November 1987), which was particularly good in analysing how planning's technical emphasis disguises the power relationships at work in shaping the built environment. Reade's book, written neither by a planning professional n o r an academic, takes a somewhat different approach, being a critique of planning's 'vague and confused professional ideology'. It is scathing on the failure of the town planning profession to develop a theory for its own activities, and its claim to an impossibly wide area of expertise. The message of the book (which I support) is simple enough: planners should restrict their activities to the distributive implications of government intervention in the ownership, use and development of land, and therefore give more attention to analysing the conse-
quences of their individual policies and actions. Reade singles out Peter Hall's The Containment o f Urban England I as 'the most thorough investigation of the effects of the British planning system to date', whose depressing conclusions have been largely ignored by planners. Hall found that planning had failed to control the price of land, leading to higher development densities, and probably reducing the rate of economic growth, mainly because of the inflationary effect of rising land and property prices. It had also resulted in regressive social redistribution, both of physicoenvironmental advantages and disadvantages, and in more purely financial terms. The system has been maintained even by the anti-planning Conservative government in power since 1979 for several reasons, identified by Patsy Healey in her Local Plans in British Land Use Planning2: a)
b)
the strong lobby behind countryside protection and the protection of agricultural land; the inertia built up within local
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