ABSTRACT
Town and country planning in most of Europe started on a common basis early in the twentieth century, but diverged after 1947. In Britain, planning became more discretionary, with a tendency towards centralized control. Elsewhere, it remained more rigid but increasingly within a decentralized framework of national, regional and local planning. The new factor is the increasing interest in planning by the European Commission which, since 1992, has been given a mandate for town and country planning, although under the influence of subsidiarity no action has yet been taken. The main influence of the Commission on planning has been felt through the increasing effects of environmental regulation and the programmes of the Structural Funds in addressing regional disparities and, indirectly, through the various pilot studies and support for networks for the exchange of experience. These are leading towards a new perception of space following completion of the Single Market and a new concept of spatial planning, epitomized at the macro level by publication of Europe 2000 and at the local scale in the increase in transnational planning across national borders. This chapter discusses these developments and asks the questions, “What effect will they have on the policies and practice of planning in the UK? Will there be a harmonization of planning systems, or a convergence, and if so what form will they take?”
