ABSTRACT
Drawing upon the ideas explored thus far, this chapter begins to bring together the emerging approaches to spatial planning for and through landscapes. Rookwood (1995) has argued that such an approach needs to bridge the rationalised, compartmentalised reality of science, and the emotional, interactive reality of politics. It therefore needs to be able to translate scientific theory into a vocabulary of planning objectives which can influence the decision-making process. A main aim of this chapter is to review means of bridging the science-society divide by identifying mechanisms for delivering environmentally robust solutions through appropriate spatial units in ways that are supported by institutional capacity. Reflecting this aim, three principal considerations are addressed: crossing boundaries, both disciplinary and geographical; normative spatial planning, based on scientific and management principles; and deliberative planning, drawing upon the social and institutional infrastructure.
