Introduction to Spatial Planning as Institutional Design

What initially sparked the interest of the author to write this book was his experience as a member of a committee charged with drafting a new urban and regional planning law, while Greece was under the shadow of the 2008 economic crisis. Changes in planning legislation were a prior action imposed by the Memoranda of Understanding signed by the Greek government and the country’s international creditors. Although this was the triggering factor, the author soon broadened his research in three directions. The first was to examine the similarities between all European countries seriously affected by the crisis, i.e., Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain (CGIIPS), and include extensive comparisons, regarding both the spatial planning systems and the wider historical, economic and social background. The second was to extend the examination over time and look at the state of spatial planning before, during and after the crisis. The third was to place the task of producing spatial planning legislation in the theoretical context of institutional theory and institutional design, in the firm conviction that spatial planning is itself an institution of the modern democratic state. The author’s approach is summarized in this introductory chapter, which also contains brief outlines of the contents of all book chapters. But it will be even more dissected in the concluding chapter of the book.