Editorial Type:
Article Category: Research Article
| Online Publication Date: 12 Apr 2011
Are Anglo-American-Style Normative Planning Theories Applicable in South Asian Cities? An Exploratory Study
Are Anglo-American-Style Normative Planning Theories Applicable in South Asian Cities? An Exploratory Study
Page Range: 72 – 93
Three types of normative planning theories have been popular among planners in the United State and Western Europe in recent years, with a fourth knocking at the door. In contrast, rational planners in South Asian cities, realizing that their resources are limited, have traditionally practised a synoptic approach to planning. Unfortunately, most of their planning initiatives have been futile, owing to the poverty of this region. This has led planners and policy makers to search for appropriate and innovative alternatives for planning in this region. This paper analyzes and explores the applicability of Anglo-American-style normative planning theories in the cities of South Asia. The author concludes that implementing Western-style planning theories in general, and normative planning theories in particular, is premature, because an appropriate milieu does not yet exist in South Asian cities at their present stage of development. Ces dernières années, trois types de théories normatives d'aménagement du territoire ont rencontré du succès auprès des aménageurs, tant aux États-Unis qu'en Europe occidentale; une quatrième est annoncée. Malgré ce fait, les aménageurs dans les villes de l'Asie du Sud, comprenant que leurs ressources étaient limitées, ont plutôt pratiqué une approche synoptique de l'aménagement. Malheureusement, la plupart de leurs initiatives n'ont mené à rien, par suite de la pauvreté de cette région; ce fait les a amenés à chercher des solutions innovantes et mieux adaptées. Cet article examine la pertinence des théories normatives d'aménagement d'inspiration anglo-américaine dans les villes de l'Asie du Sud. L'auteur conclut que la mise en oeuvre de théories d'aménagement de type occidental, et plus spécialement de les théories normatives d'aménagement, serait prématurée, car l'environnement approprié pour les appliquer n'est pas encore en place dans les villes de l'Asie du Sud dans leur état actuel de développement.
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