ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the relationships between governmental activities and urban and regional development. Explicit urban and regional policies attempt to stimulate development in communities outside the largest, or primate, city. Urban or regional development plans, programs, and projects should be based on a clear understanding of national urban and regional development policy. An analysis of the implicit urban and regional policy contained in the activities and decisions of governments may provide a more realistic view of government policy. The national development plan should be scrutinized carefully to identify explicit and implied policies. If the plan contains an explicit policy, judgements can be made concerning the degree of commitment to that policy. The activities of specific government programs and agencies also can be analyzed to reveal implicit urban and regional policies. A primary source of data is the national plan, which often indicates explicit regional development or urbanization policies.
