ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces a model that incorporates sustainable development in planning. The model is especially valuable in the evaluation of sustainable planning policies. The chapter outlines the characteristics of planning and sustainable development. It elaborates the 'actor-consulting' model. The aim of the 'actor-consulting' model is to address the subjective nature of sustainable development, to create a common understanding among actors, and to unravel underlying mechanisms that determine actors' actions. The model enables analysis of the present and desired contribution and the conflicts that might arise between them. The chapter provides the case study results obtained when the model was applied during the SUStainability in PLANning (SUSPLAN) project. It describes how the 'actor-consulting' model was applied in the analysis of sustainable housing policy throughout the Groningen-Assen region in the Netherlands. The most important factors involved in regional housing and land use planning are developers, social housing corporations, consultancy agencies, and interest groups.
