Published in 1992, the aim of this book is to give both the professional planner and the student a feel for the current arguments alive in planning policy circles and to introduce relevant contemporary research. This book has developed out of a series of seminars run at the Institute of Planning Studies at Nottingham University as part of its continuing professional development programme. Each of the seminars brought together a variety of speakers who were involved with the topic under discussion from a different aspect – some with academic research experience and others with practical policy implementation.

Most the nineteen contributors presented papers at this series of seminars, but some have been rewritten, others substantially revised, and several have been commissioned especially for this book. Four current policy issues are examined: provision and pedestrians; jobs for the inner cities; the homeless and the relationship between planners and developers. For each topic contributors were chosen who could approach the problem from a different point of view, the aim being to explore each topic with direct statements and straightforward arguments leading therefore to a more stimulating breadth of this view rather than a bland overview.