ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses upon the relationship between planning policy and spatial context. It aims to show how policy pushes certain goals and how these come into conflict with the goals of those who are invited to consider the plans and the policies at the regional and local levels. The book outlines the main thrust of planning policy by examining how the discourses of 'development' and 'environment' have been framed by government. It considers how the figures moved on down to the district level and the arguments that broke out around them. The book studies the formulation of a structure plan and shows how the housing figures were incorporated into plan policies. It also examines discourses of development and environment within the plan-making process and illustrates how the housing projections acted to constrain and direct the arguments.
