Action Planning for Cities: A Guide to Community Practice [Paperback]

Nabeel Hamdi (Author), Reinhard Goethert (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471969281 | ISBN-13: 978-0471969280 | Publication Date: February 1997 | Edition: 1

Action Planning for Cities proposes an alternative approach and practical guide to planning which is grounded in community needs with objectives which are immediate. The authors are distinguished planners who have been associated with the development of the approach and have written widely in the field. Of great importance in development planning in developing countries, the approach is also of social relevance in Eastern Europe, the USA and the EU. The book is conceived as a practical guide to techniques and illustration of good practice, and contains sufficient theoretical material to be of great value to academic researchers and students.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Action Planning for Cities proposes an alternative approach and practical guide to planning which is grounded in community needs with objectives which are immediate. The authors are distinguished planners who have been associated with the development of the approach and have written widely in the field. Of great importance in development planning in developing countries, the approach is also of social relevance in Eastern Europe, the USA and the EU. The book is conceived as a practical guide to techniques and illustration of good practice, and contains sufficient theoretical material to be of great value to academic researchers and students.

From the Back Cover

Planning suffers a crisis in confidence reflected in the growing consensus about its inability to manage fast changing cities effectively, and about its means and ends. Few of its benefits reach the urban poor majority. Action Planning for Cities brings together state of the art methods and techniques. It proposes practical and common sense alternatives, linking the needs of community with the strategic plans of government. Its methods are problem driven, community derived, participatory, fast, adaptive and incremental. In practice, its impacts are immediate and more easily sustainable. Action Planning can be used to improve city management by stimulating partnerships amongst stakeholders and by capacity building at all levels. It can be applied to a variety of settings, including infrastructure planning, environmental management, urban upgrading, settlement planning, community development. This book is organised into four sections. The first introduces an alternative theoretical agenda for planning based on a critical review of current development theories and practices. It traces the origins of Action Planning and describes its characteristics, methods and techniques. The second section reviews and analyses examples of participatory planning currently in operation and explains the disparate methods and techniques in use. Section three studies the links between action planning and learning. It sets out a basis on which to plan training programmes and decide appropriate educational settings and training conditions. The book concludes with a series of case files that clearly illustrate the principles and practice of action planning programmes. Action Planning for Cities is designed to be used as both a practical guide and for field and academic training. It contains easily reproduced charts and formats with illustrations of good practice. It will be of great value to development practitioners, educators and students. Of great importance in development planning in developing countries, the approach is also relevant in Eastern Europe, USA and the EU.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Academy Press; 1 edition (February 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471969281
• ISBN-13: 978-0471969280
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,804,208 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not useful if you are asian, September 18, 2000

By 

"guybrush_threepwood" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Action Planning for Cities: A Guide to Community Practice (Paperback)

I live in Aisa, this book is great on it's own merits, it covers fundamentals concepts thoroughly, but as you get to practical side, you begin to see the flaws, as it is not that accuarate as come to asian un-planned cities. You need other books as well as practical experience for complete understanding.