Rachelle Alterman

The Challenge of Farmland Preservation: Lessons from a Six-Nation Comparison

Abstract Countries differ significantly in their laws and policies for farmland preservation and in the degree of success achieved. This paper compares the policies of the U.S.A. and Canada—two countries with a high rate of farmland per person—with four other democracies on the other side of the Atlantic—Britain, The Netherlands, France, and Israel. The policies of the European Community are also discussed. The paper develops a framework for cross-national comparison of institutional, policy, and contextual factors. The findings show that stringent legal controls are not enough, nor is there a strong correlation between degree of success in farmland preservation and any particular format for planning. The great successes of the Netherlands and Britain—among Europes most densely inhabited countries—are attributable to other factors. Since farmland preservation is increasingly being challenged by a declining economic rationale and competing collective goals, and since the countries across the Atlantic have...

Implementation of Urban Land Use Plans

This article reports on research in progress which empirically measures and examines the implementation of a land use plan. It is a case study of a statutory land use plan for the Krayot area in Israel. The analysis covers the relative influence on implementation of the plan from political factors, from the attributes of the plan, and from changes occurring in the urban system.

National-Level Planning in Democratic Countries: An International Comparison of City and Regional Policy-Making

National-level spatial planning in democratic countries has been all but ignored by researchers in urban and regional planning since the reconstruction years following World War II. Being synonymous for many with repressive regimes and coercive government practices, national-level planning also fell into some disrepute. A set of specially commissioned papers from leading researchers has produced this challenging and comprehensive study of current national-level planning in ten countries of the developed world. Challenging common assumptions, this comparative international study finds that there seems to be a modest trend whereby, on the threshold of the 21st century, national-level planning has grown in importance in democratic, advanced-economy countries.

Can Planning Help in Time of Crisis?: Planners' Responses to Israel's Recent Wave of Mass Immigration

Abstract This paper looks at the national crisis of mass immigration to Israel between 1990 and 1992 as a large-scale laboratory for studying the responses of planners and decisionmakers to crises. Several planning theorists have expressed doubt that there are recognized planning approaches for handling crises, or that planning can be of much help. Can planning guide decisions when uncertainty and turbulence are of such magnitude, or are crises accompanied by “planning failure”? Or may the planning function, perhaps, be strengthened? Do crises show decision modes or trajectories different from noncrisis situations? And what roles do planners play? How do they face situations of heightened ethical conflict? This paper analyzes the modes of response of decisionmakers and planners in crisis, following its various phases, and then draws lessons that can enhance our understanding of planning practice in varied contexts and types of problems.

Planning and Policy Analysis Converging or Diverging Trends

Abstract Ever since policy analysis appeared on the scene as a field of higher education and practice, planners have been concerned about their relationship with it, at times claiming that planning and policy analysis are one and the same, at other times viewing the two as different fields. This article examines the relationship between the two fields in terms of their underlying assumptions and prevailing modes of practice, comparing them along eight dimensions. The conclusions show that some significant differences between the fields do exist, and there are trends both of convergence and divergence. Some directions for the future relations between planning and policy analysis are outlined.

Integrated evaluation: A synthesis of approaches to the evaluation of broad-aim social programs

Abstract Integrated evaluation is intended to serve decision makers who are responsible for broad-aim social programs by providing information based on evaluation which can aid both ongoing decisions and long-term strategic decisions. It integrates elements of diverse evaluation traditions in a complementary manner: monitoring—in order to inform what has been done by the program; implementation analysis—in order to understand how decisions are being made and carried out; economic evaluation—including both cost-effectiveness and assessment of distributional effects; and goal achievement evaluation—in order to present the program outcomes from the point of view of the various parties who produced the program and/or were affected by it. The article presents these four components of integrated evaluation and discusses its advantages as well as its difficulties and pitfalls.

Planning for Public Participation: The Design of Implementable Strategies

In the hope of improving the performance of public participation programs in practice, this paper applies a perspective drawn from the recent literature on implementation assessment to the design of such programs. Viewing participation not only as a way of structuring the relationship among groups, but as itself an object of varying interests and perceptions, the paper proposes the concept of a strategy of participation which implies the need to take into account the likely actions and points of view that the actors might take vis-à-vis the participation program. The paper presents a framework whereby alternative participatory strategies may be designed and methods selected. This framework is based on a set of six decision variables: the type of issue; goals and objectives; definition of the public; the power relationship; the stage in the planning process; and types of resources.

Implementing Decentralization for Neighborhood Regeneration: Factors Promoting or Inhibiting Success

Abstract Decentralization is an important principle in Israels national program for social and physical regeneration of distressed neighborhoods. Evaluation of the results indicates that decentralization has been achieved, but in a manner wrought with compromises. However, when we assess it against Israels entrenched tradition of highly centralized decision making, we regard decentralization in Project Renewal as a qualified success. To make the lessons of Project Renewal useful, I identify factors that have contributed to success or failure, using the theoretical perspective of implementation analysis. While the inhibiting factors are generally familiar from the literature on implementation, some supportive factors are unique to Project Renewal and account for its relative success. Those factors include promotion of innovation through a major footloose agency, a pipeline for transfer of technologies from other countries, availability of a “policy shelter” during the projects formative stages, long-term...

Guest editorial: comparative research at the frontier of planning law: The case of compensation rights for land use regulations

Purpose – This paper aims to present the merits of cross-national comparative research as a method for pushing the frontier of knowledge about planning laws. Since in every country there is usually some dissatisfaction with its present planning laws or certain aspects of them, cross-national research can open an arena of alternatives based on real-life experiences. To demonstrate this argument the paper focuses on a shared dilemma – how should the law handle the negative effects of some planning decisions on land values. This case is used to demonstrate both the comparative method and the usefulness of comparative findings. The conclusions point out theopportunities for cross-learning. Design/methodology/approach – The overall argument about the comparative research draws on the author’s extensive experience in conducting cross-national research on a variety of issues in planning laws. The research on compensation rights reported here draws on the author’s recent book which analyses the laws and practices in 13 countries. To ensure a “common platform” for comparison, the author developed a method based on a set of factual scenarios and a shared framework of topics. A team of country-based researchers conducted the legal analysis, and the team leader conducted the comparative analysis.Findings – The 13-country analysis shows that there is a great variety of approaches to compensation rights around the world and a broad range of degrees, from no compensation at all to extensive compensation rights. There is no “consensual approach”. The search for similarities based on region in the world, legal family, cultural background, density or demography, shows that the differences cannot be “explained” on the basis of these variables. The degree of political controversy on this issue also varies greatly. The breadth of laws and practices offer a range of alternative models to enrich local debates.Research limitations/implications – Any comparative research on a new topic is bound to be exploratory. There are not yet any established theories in planning law (or in comparative research) from which hypotheses can be derived and tested. However, the large sample of countries, covering 40 per cent of the OECD countries (at the time), and the careful shared method have likely produced reliable findings. Originality/value – Most of the comparative research that the author has conducted over the years charted new grounds in both its topics and its comparative breadth. The paper reports in brief on cross-national comparative research on compensation rights. The full research, on which this paper draws (published as a book in 2010), is the first to look at this specific issue globally with a large 13-country sample of OECD countries.

Implementation Analysis of a National Neighborhood Program: The Case of Israel’s Project Renewal

How successful is a particular neighborhood program? This question poses a special challenge for evaluation research. The characteristics of broad-aimed neighborhood programs make it unlikely that traditional evaluation research could supply the answer unaided. This paper demonstrates how implementation analysis can be utilized to reinforce the evaluation endeavor. Israel’s Project Renewal is the laboratory. As a large-scale national program that encompasses most towns in Israel, it provides what few programs can: the opportunity of studying a large enough sample of neighborhoods to cover diversity, yet in the context of a small, unitary-system country that provides the canopy of shared national policy, institutional structure and administrative norms.