Welcome!
This companion website provides additional material for students to use alongside their textbook Building Competences for Spatial Planners. The author has devised three ‘real-life’ case study packs to promote the use of the skills developed throughout the book, with helpful pointers on key information that students need to pay close attention to. Additionally, flashcards are included to aid revision on key terms around exam time and when needing a quick refresher.
Information from Series Editor – Professor John Glasson, Oxford Brookes University
Spatial planning can be a very rewarding activity; it can also be a very challenging one. It involves difficult choices, critical thinking and questioning. As the author, Anastassios Perdicoulis notes, in his innovative new text, it involves questions such as: ‘Where are we? Where do we want to be? How do we get there? What options do we have? What is the best option for our case?’ The focus of this book is on the key steps involved in the planning process and on special techniques to undertake these steps. It is about managing those steps as efficiently as possible, but always considering the people with whom and for whom the planners plan.
The book makes good use of practice examples and diagrams to help planners to build their competences. While it is primarily directed at planning students and newly qualified planners, the contents will also be of interest to those with considerable experience who may wish to question or review their established methods; the book also has great international transferability. The author has an engaging style, leading the reader through areas such as team functions, how to define the planning problem, organising timings and the effective use of charts and diagrams. The book also encourages learning by doing with a series of thought provoking questions and mini-exercises. It is a very innovative contribution to the NBE series.
About the Book
Spatial planning is a process. The focus of this book is on the sequence of key tasks that constitute the process and on special techniques that are suitable to conduct these tasks. Spatial planners require a number of skills to manage this process in an efficient manner, select the necessary tasks for each specific planning context, as well as the appropriate techniques for each task – always considering the people with whom and for whom they plan.
Rather than recommending options, or ‘recipes’, this book stimulates critical thinking and questioning: What do we want to achieve? How can we do that? What options do we have? Which option is the best for our case? This book contains enough planning theory to discuss the function of the planner and the alternative approaches, as well as to provide the background for defining a core set of planning tasks.
Building Competences for Spatial Planners is ideal for both planning students and newly qualified planners who are rapidly accumulating knowledge and experience. Perdicoulis uses practice examples, diagrams and thought provoking chapter questions to help planners develop high-level skills such as efficient organisation, communication and thinking. His engaging style carries the reader through areas such as team functions, how to define the planning problem, organising timings and how to use charts and diagrams to help planners and their clients.
More details at http://www.tasso.utad.pt/