ABSTRACT
A policy agenda can be simply defined as a set of substantive issues that planning tries to tackle or resolve. They are compiled from general and recurring problems and from topical concerns of planners and decision-makers. A characteristic of spatial planning agendas is the concern with the spatial and temporal aspects of problems and issues. Three sets of questions are raised in considering these policy agendas. Procedural questions include: How do issues come onto a planning agenda? Why do some issues receive serious attention in the planning process and others do not? How do planners and decision-makers narrow their choices from a large set of issues? How and why do planning agendas change over time? Spatial questions include: What concepts of space do the spatial planning agendas embody? What levels of space do the agendas focus on? What is the impact of the cross-national transfer of spatial organizing ideas? Temporal questions include: How is time conceived by different actors in setting agendas? What is the interplay between short-term operational and long-term strategic considerations in agenda-making? Closely related, but not entirely time-based, is the question of the effects of uncertainty, complexity and instability on agenda-making.
