Environmental Planning and Management: An Introduction

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Initially, planning was seen as a rational process, involving the application of objective methods and data to issues of environmental policy. More recently, the dynamic nature of the planning process has been acknowledged. We argue it is better viewed as an interaction among the planner, the formal political process, and the diverse and often competing interests of various groups in the community. We discuss the implications of this view of planning for planners and psychologists. We then present a case study of water demand management that illustrates how psychologists can contribute to the planning process. Finally, an overview of this journal issue is presented that highlights the major points of each article.