ABSTRACT
In Italy, planning and architectural qualifications are largely interchangeable. France has always had a highly centralised administrative structure, but some devolution of planning powers took place in the late 1970s, and this trend is likely to be assisted by the policy of President Mitterrand to diminish the extent of control by central government over local affairs. The Netherlands has the most fully developed system of physical planning at national level among the larger countries, but this appears as an exception to the general rule. In Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium architectural traditions and education have had a major influence over planning, although in all cases there is evidence of a distinct trend towards the social science based education of planners, separately from architects, in some universities. In Ireland, the county managers and the planning board operate without needing to seek government approval for individual decisions.
