Spatial Planning as Institutional Design: European Countries Amid Economic Crisis and Austerity(Elgar Studies in Planning Theory, Policy and Practice)

This book focuses on the urban and regional planning systems in Europe under conditions of economic crisis and austerity. Spatial Planning as Institutional Design examines the structure and legislation of these systems throughout the twentieth century as well as the decade before the 2008 economic and fiscal crisis and the years of recovery following it. Louis C. Wassenhoven provides critical analysis of spatial planning systems within Europe and reviews the theories of these institutions and their design. Using his personal experience as a member of a law-making committee in Greece, Wassenhoven illustrates the idea that spatial planning is an important component of a modern democratic state. Defining legal frameworks as an act of institutional design, the book further explores insightful findings through extensive country studies and the lessons to be learnt in the future. This engaging read is of particular significance to scholars of spatial planning, social science and planning law. Researchers and policy makers interested in territorial development and land use will also find the analysis informative.

Table of Contents:
Contents Foreword xii Preface xvi 1 Introduction to Spatial Planning as Institutional Design PART I SPATIAL PLANNING SYSTEMS IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES AFFECTED BY THE 2008 ECONOMIC CRISIS 2 Spatial planning systems in the 20th century 3 Drafting spatial planning legislation as institutional design: theoretical foundations 4 Spatial planning systems on the eve of the economic crisis, 2000‒2010 5 The economic crisis PART II THE REFORM OF THE URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING SYSTEMS AS A RESULT OF THE ECONOMIC CRISIS 6 Efforts of reform in countries suffering from the crisis 7 Greece: EU Task Force and special steering committee for spatial planning reform PART III SPATIAL PLANNING SYSTEMS AFTER THE CRISIS 8 Developments after exiting from the crisis: comparisons 9 Summing up: an overview Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Louis C. Wassenhoven, Professor Emeritus (Urban and Regional Planning), Department of Urban and Regional Planning, School of Architectural Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Greece

Review :
‘Louis Wassenhoven provides a detailed and frank insider's account of the Troika-driven planning reform process in crisis-stricken Greece. His book is a must-read for anyone who wishes to understand more about the difficulties and vagaries of structural reform, not only in Greece but also in all other EU countries who found themselves in a similar situation in the late 2000s and early 2010s.’ ‘Original and thought-provoking, based on the author's own experience on spatial planning in practice, this book identifies the need to resolve the strong conflicts and hidden agreements in Southern Europe and illustrates a new institutional design of modern/post modern democratic states after their deep financial crises and neoliberal recovery practices.’ ‘What did urban planning have to do with the 2008 financial crisis and, more generally, what does it have to do with global economic trends? This book by Louis Wassenhoven illustrates this masterfully through the revealing concept of ‘institutional design’. The book is not only of interest to urban planners in Southern Europe – the context used as a case study – but will enlighten policy-makers all over the world.’