Techniques and Concepts for Shaping the Future: Assessment of Current Planning Thought Through a Content Analysis of Town Planning Textbooks

ABSTRACT: Which bodies of knowledge and which paradigms of thinking shape spatial plans? A content analysis of three textbooks on town planning shows that on the one hand, planning standards, models, and paradigms for technical modernisation are well developed, while on the other hand, environmental planning and preservation of culture have been identified as current challenges. Introductions to town planning have been found to shift between routinely presenting established approaches and exploring solutions or technical approaches to challenges to town development. KEYWORDS: towns, spatial planning, urban planning, spatial development strategies, urbanisation.