Multi-Organisational Decision Processes in the Planned Expansion of Towns

The concept of the ‘multi-organisation’ is used to obtain a clearer view of the problems of decision-making in one field of public planning where the pattern of organisational responsibilities is exceptionally diffuse: that relating to the planned expansion of towns to channel the pressures for change within a region. Four basic types of multi-organisational activity are identified, concerned with the redistribution of population and employment within a region, the negotiation of local agreements, the coordination of local operations, and the coordination of external authorisations by different government agencies. Some of the main characteristics of these four activities are identified, and it is argued that a basis for predicting the effectiveness of alternative organisational patterns can be developed through the analysis of different sources of uncertainty as perceived by those actually involved in the decision process.