In itselfthe logical dissertation ofthe last chapter serves as nothing more than an academic exercise. But it is of wider significance, for the three explanatory forms identified are the 'scientific' basis for many regional planning strategies. The purpose of the first half of this chapter is to examine the consequences which follow when knowledge constructed in this way is translated into practical action. The second halfdiscusses the idea of 'territorial regional planning' as an alternative paradigm which rejects the idea that regional planning should be based on scientific knowledge and which supposedly rests on a different conception of space.