ABSTRACT
In this chapter an overview of the planning process is provided, including a discussion of why we plan, the process of planning in the UK, its shortcomings and its role with specific reference to housing. In his book Urban and Regional Planning, Peter Hall (1992, p. 9) compares the activity of planning with the challenge of putting a man on the moon. He suggests:
At first sight this may seem absurd: nothing could be more complex than space travel. But this is to mix up levels of complexity. Space travel presents many technical problems, but there are two features that make it basically simple. First, the objective is clearly understood: there is one aim only, to get men on the moon (or, eventually to Mars or farther). Secondly, the processes involved are nearly all physical: they are subject to laws of physics, which are much better understood, and which appear to be more regular in their application, than laws of human behaviour. . . . [Planning] is inherently more complex. First, the basic objective is not well understood; there is clearly more than one objective, and perhaps dozens. . . . These objectives may not be readily compatible, and may indeed be contradictory. Secondly, most of the processes which need controlling are human processes, which are less well understood and work with much less certainty than laws in the physical sciences.
