The “systems view” and planning theory

This paper evaluates the British “systems view” of planning in terms of its success in providing a basis for planning theory. It is argued that it falls short of fulfilling all the criteria of a satisfactory base for planning theory, i.e. it does not provide a rationale for physical planning. Instead of making full use of the potential for criticising their practise inherent to its concept, the systems view merely rationalises what physical planners do anyway. In an attempt to investigate what the rationale of physical planning might be, the author then suggests one should conceive physical development plans as resource budgets which act mainly as constraints on, rather than as guides for, action.