Policy Processes in Planning

This paper discusses the significance of the processes through which policy is formulated and implemented, and in particular explores the argument that different types of policy process produce different distributive consequences. The paper first briefly reviews the discussion of policy processes in planning theory and in the political economy literature. Process forms are then defined, and different types of process outlined, with particular reference to their manifestation in British town and country planning. The discussion then moves to the level of the decision rules which constitute process forms. The dimensions of these decision rules are presented as a series of questions, through which a clearer view of the potential distributive effects of policy processes may be identified. The paper concludes with a discussion of the analytical and normative implications of the approach outlined.