Bridging the Gap between North and South: Towards a Common Approach to Intra-Regional Planning

Compared are recent trends in regional planning (emphasizing intra- rather than interregional planning) in the developing countries of the "South" (ie, Third World countries) & the UK, including: (1) increased emphasis on small planning regions, (2) attention to achieving sectoral (or functional) integration within regions, (3) political & administrative decentralization, & (4) the adoption of a management approach to planning that combines SE & physical perspectives. Despite relatively little interchange of ideas between the two regions, development studies suggest that a systematic exchange of experiences could be beneficial to both. Actual planning practices & the literature on regional planning from both areas are examined. In Comments, Deryck Bernard (U of Guyana, Georgetown) questions whether: (A) the spatial problems of the developed & undeveloped world are similar enough to allow extrapolation from one region to the other, & (B) intraregional planning achievements in Third World countries are actually solid & broad enough to allow for cross-fertilization. Patsy Healey (Oxford Polytechnic, UK) supports such an interchange, but elaborates on Conyers's caution that a nation's political processes cannot be understood in isolation from economic, cultural, & environmental factors. G. Shabbir Cheema (UN Centre for Regional Development, Nagoya, Japan) agrees that Conyers's overview justifies an interchange of information between these regions, & suggests a cross-national comparative project on intraregional planning that includes an international research project, seminars or policy workshops, & special issues of professional journals to disseminate findings. K. Hyatt