GIS and the scientific inputs to urban planning. Part 1: description

Abstract

Urban planning is one of many fields in which the advantages of GIS seem to be broadly accepted in general but not always in the particular. This paper is the first of a two-part review defining the scope of the contribution of GIS in planning analysis. The usefulness of GIS as a tool for building planning support systems, it is argued, is best assessed with reference to the nature of the scientific input required at the various stages of decisionmaking. Characterising planning by its scientific inputs, defined in terms of procedural and substantive planning theory, the author attempts to make definitive statements about the potential contribution of GIS irrespective of specific current technologies or the existence of tried applications. The technology's limitations as a planning aid are also highlighted, and tasks for which GIS offers little or no substantial advantages are identified. -from Author