The Network Society A New Context for Planning [Paperback]

In a clear and rewarding style, Albrechts and Mandelbaum consider the challenges that the new paradigm of the Network Society creates for Urban and Regional Planning. Chapters grouped into five themes discuss theoretical and practical perspectives on the contemporary organization of social, economic, cultural, political and physical spaces. These sections are:

• models of the Network Society
• the impact of physical networks such as transport
• challenges for Planners raised by societys increased reliance on new technology
• an examination of local networks including community networks and the possibilities of setting up local networks for disaster recovery
• a comparison of spatial and policy networks and an exploration of the institutions involved.

This book is essential reading for graduate level courses in urban studies, city and regional planning, and urban design. With its clear structure  unitary sections but a diversity of perspectives  the book can be used easily in courses such as Planning Theory, Urban Infrastructure and Public Policy.

List of figures

List of tables

Contributors

Preface

Introduction: A New Context for Planning?

Louis Albrechts and Seymour J. Mandelbaum

1 The Network Society: A New Paradigm?

1.1 Communicative Action and the Network Society: A Pragmatic Marriage?

Niraj Verma and HaeRan Shin

1.2 Planning and the Network City: Discursive Correspondences

Robert A. Beauregard

1.3 Escaping the Prison of the Present Place : Can We Plan the Future of Localities in the Context of a Network Society?

Dowell Myers

1.4 The Discourse Network: A Way of Understanding Policy Formation, Stability, and Change in the Networked Polity