ABSTRACT
Regulations are type of resource that is employed to plan future land uses, next to for instance financial and communicative resources. This chapter discusses the tension between both on the basis of the literature on planning and uncertainty and planning and institutions. It deals with limited knowledge and uncertainty also implies flexibility, we have moved beyond the times of blueprint or end-state plans. The chapter describes some local authorities that considers the project decision as a slightly 'lighter' instrument than the land-use plan and therefore used it indeed as a means to organize decision-making into phases, by deciding about the development as such, while deciding later on the detailed regulations. Where regulation seeks to eliminate future options so as to create certainty, and avoid risk and blame, strategic planning implies dealing with uncertainty by making plans flexible and adaptive. The chapter further concludes that strategically used land-use plans test the compatibility of planning and regulation.
