Innovative planning for sustainable development: A win-win approach through conversion of negative into positive externalities

Abstract

Predicated on the theoretical foundations of Coasian and Schumpeterian economics, this analytical work adopts a broad view of planning as resource management. It involves the zoning of land or sea with an aim to contribute to sustainability by justifying a micro policy model of sustainable development, unambiguously defined as win-win development via technological and institutional innovations. The paper positions a micro model within the literature on the win-win approach to sustainable development, and clarifies the economic relationship between transaction cost reduction and sustainable development. The paper elucidates the relevance of planning policies to sustainable development through successful innovations in production, explains the general economic role of town planning as a matter of public policies that address boundary-specific and cross-boundary issues in promoting sustainable development, and presents some specific planning policies that reduce transaction costs and promote sustainable development. The prospect of planning for sustainable development is discussed.