ABSTRACT
Within the Federal states of Austria, Switzerland and Germany planning power, to a considerable extent, is vested in the regional tier of government. Although there is a marked variation in the planning processes between the three countries, the strong constitution and Federal system of each member of the Germanic family is similarly legalistic in its approach – the codification of law being reflected in ‘rigorously formulated planning regulations . . . (and) . . . a strong level of planning with its own laws and plans and a set of arrangements for creating consensus between and within levels in the hierarchy’ (Newman and Thornley. 1996: 72). As in Italy and Spain, the devolution of planning power to the regions in the Napoleonic state of Belgium has been the direct result of recent pressures for constitutional reform and associated changes in planning powers and responsibilities – culminating in the creation of a Federal state in 1993.
