ABSTRACT
The need to fulfil the competing demands of ‘systematic coverage’ and ‘rich subjective engagement’ can be translated in practical terms into different conceptions of the planning process. These can be more vividly described if presented as caricatures. If planning is seen as something akin to a military operation with very precise targets, rigid structures and exact timings, the secure semblance of order may conceal a lack of involvement and ownership by those involved. At the other extreme, a laissez faire ‘happening’ which may appear on the surface to be affording room for creativity and personal expression may amount to no more than an aimless and empty experience with no significant outcome. Finding an appropriate balance between these two extremes is the obvious but by no means straightforward task.
