5. PERSPECTIVES ON EMPLOYMENT-ORIENTED LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

This section discusses the four perspectives we have identified. These were briefly alluded to in section 3, which discussed the historical background to contemporary employment-oriented local economic development. Each of these has arisen and developed as a response to pressing social and economic problems within urban areas, whereby different occupational groups have sought to claim, or have been attributed with, relevant expertise. Within Abbott's terminology, such expertise includes that of 'diagnosis' of what are significant complex problems, of 'prescription' of actions to remedy such problems, and of 'inference' in terms of bodies of knowledge which enable the determination of the 'prescription' from the 'diagnosis'. We might thus see such different perspectives as attempts to claim 'jurisdiction' over the area.

The four perspectives are presented in the same order as they were introduced in section 3, which broadly reflects their historic emergence as significant fields.

Town Planning

Town Planning as a professionalised occupation in the UK arose in the latter part of the Nineteenth Century. Its focus is primarily on the socio-economic and physical environment of urban areas; it is concerned mainly with land use and the built environment as they affect social, economic, and environmental issues. The professional body, the Royal Town Planning Institute, (RTPI) asserts that 'Town Planning is the key to ensuring the best possible environment in which to live and work, in our cities, towns and countryside' source: RTPI Website: http://www.rtpi.org.uk.

Much of the development of town planning as a professionalised occupation has been affected by state intervention and legislation. The original concerns were with attempts at rational ordering of urban land use, to deal with the consequences of urban growth arising from the Industrial Revolution, particularly in terms of sanitation, housing and transport. Whilst the 'Garden City' movement of the late 19th century, large-scale suburban housing developments between the two World Wars, and the New Town movement of the mid-20th century, were able to develop plans virtually ab initio, most town planning has tended to be based on 'an endless process of policy-making, control and implementation' source: Greed, C. (1993), Introducing Town Planning, London: Longman. Through various Acts of Parliament legislation was gradually introduced to control development, responding to the problems that arose: urban sprawl, decline of inner city housing into slums, rapid increase in motor vehicle ownership and use, rises in prices for development land under commercial pressures. The development of computers enabled planners to use statistical analysis and mathematical modelling, particularly for forecasting in the planning process. At the same time, systems theory approaches to management were being applied, with the emphasis upon establishing systems for monitoring change so that interventions could be made to influence, and if possible control, future changes.

Such issues appear to have placed an emphasis upon the spatial issues in town planning, and upon technical-rational approaches. From the 1960s, there was a reaction against these emphases, from various quarters. Conservationists expressed concern at the demolition of buildings deemed to be of architectural merit, to be replaced by large and often high-rise buildings considered by many to be similar in appearance and lacking any positive aesthetic qualities. Wholesale clearance of areas of older housing disrupted communities, and the replacement high-rise housing was often criticised by inhabitants as 'soul-less'. Moreover, physical problems and design flaws were soon experienced with such high-rise housing, one of the earliest and the most notorious being the Ronan Point disaster of 1969, when the side of a residential tower block collapsed following a gas explosion in a flat near the top floor. There were calls for more democratic involvement in planning processes, so that a wider set of issues affecting people should be addressed. This applied especially in respect of major road building plans in London; the 'motorway box' proposals for London, involving wholesale demolition of residential areas, were abandoned. Economic pressures led to reduction in public expenditure, and the election of the Conservative Government under Margaret Thatcher placed greater emphasis upon private sector investment and relaxation of planning restrictions. Such laisser-faire policies, undermined the interventionist and technocratic rationale of town planning, leading to considerable rethinking.

As a result of these and other pressures, town planning became more involved in 'aspatial' or 'social' issues. The recognition in the 1980s of a 'crisis of the inner cities', particularly following major riots, was seen to involve a whole set of connected factors concerning poverty and unemployment, especially as these affected disproportionately certain population groups. The assumptions on which much planning has been based are now increasingly seen to be simplistic and out-of-date, as major social and cultural changes take place.

The town planning perspective is thus long-established, linked with legislative and other state intervention over a long period, and has a professional body with Royal Charter status. Entry to the profession in normally at post-degree level coupled with periods of practical experience. Graduates of degree courses in town planning enter various areas of professional practice, not merely planning roles in local or national government administration. Theory and practice in planning have been able to respond to changing circumstances, to maintain the jurisdictional claims of the profession.

Typically, degrees in town planning would cover areas such as planning theory and practice, micro- and macro-economics, urban design, planning law, management, urban social problems. The study has strong affinities with economic and social geography, transport studies, surveying and land valuation. Practical project work form a key part of such studies, particularly through work placement in local authority planning departments, or in the private sector. The spatial emphasis is reflected in the place that two-dimensional drawing (maps) and three-dimensional model design have in such courses.

Typical advertisements for jobs in this area are shown in Figure 3.

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