ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book intends as a contribution to the rehabilitation of the metropolitan planning idea, especially as it applies in the British context. Metropolitan planning is a policy-led activity which stands between the more detailed and particular concerns that forms the substance of local urban planning and the higher-level spatial and other policy priorities which are the responsibility of national or regional government. In Britain the conditions for the rediscovery of the metropolitan scale of action include a renewed political commitment to the idea of spatial policy, which can help to guide plan making and the control of development in accordance with the plan. The book explores two themes. The first distinguishes features and characteristics of metropolitan planning, whilst the second examines key issues confronting metropolitan planning. The book also contains the case studies of metropolitan strategic planning in England, Scotland and Wales.
