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Information is perceived to be a vital resource by most organisations. In the case of local authority planning departments the majority of the information utilised has a geographical component. Technological advances in the last ten years have made it practical for most planning authorities in Britain to store and process a substantial proportion of their data needs using computers. However, despite the removal of many of the technical barriers which inhibited the development of computer based systems the experiences of planning authorities have been mixed. With these considerations in mind the research examines three areas which are regarded as likely to influence the effective utilisation of geographical information by planning authorities. These are firstly, factors affecting the development of automated systems, secondly, the role of information in the process of formulating planning policies and thirdly, factors directly influencing the utilisation of information including automated data. The investigation explores through empirical studies the validity of a range of theoretical perspectives which have sought to describe and explain the use of information in organisations. The conceptual framework underlying the research draws on the findings of a series of major studies based in local government in the United States undertaken by the Public Policy Research Organisation of the University of California at Irvine. The framework suggests technology and more particularly the utilisation of information is embedded within the social and political processes of organisations. Three groups of organisational factors are identified as significantly influencing the experiences of local authorities. These are: (i) the organisational context; (ii) people; and (iii) change and instability. The empirical investigations are based on the findings of two in depth case studies undertaken in Hertfordshire County Council and Glasgow District Council. A two stage case study approach was adopted. The methods utilised include exploratory and semi-structured interviews, an analysis of existing documentation, attendance at meetings and observation of the activities of the department. The research findings support the arguments underlying the conceptual framework that organisational factors have a significant impact on the development of computer based systems and the utilisation of geographical information in planning authorities. The link between information and policy making was found to be complex with information often performing tactical, background and even political roles rather than the substantive function often assumed by systems designers. These findings also have important implications for planning practice. Given the significance of human, institutional and organisational considerations to the effective utilisation of geographical information a user centred strategy is proposed. This approach provides a framework which enables the social and political as well as technical nature of computer based systems to be incorporated into the development process. With these considerations in mind there is a need for further work which explores the impact of organisational factors if the current technological opportunities are to be realised in practice.

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Dynamic traffic assignment is widely recognised as being more useful to evaluate traffic management measures than is static counterpart, as it allows us to analyse how congestion forms and dissipates in time-varying conditions. In this thesis, both deterministic and stochastic dynamic assignments are modelled with a proper link performance function, and solved with efficient solution algorithms so that they give rise to high quality solutions. A deterministic dynamic assignment is formulated in the form of variational inequality and solved by a route-based solution algorithm which intrinsically respects correct flow propagation. Similarly a stochastic dynamic assignment is formulated in the form of variational inequality, but solved with a link-based algorithm with an explanation on how to maintain correct flow propagation in this solution approach. In particular, both solution algorithms are developed in a way that we can find optimal solutions efficiently without direct evaluation of an objective function, based on the interpolation method. In both dynamic assignment techniques, the deterministic queuing model is adopted as the basis of the link performance function. This model is suitable to describe the relationship between inflows, outflows, and travel costs for a link in time-varying conditions because it respects all requirements for dynamic traffic modelling such as traffic conservation, the FIFO discipline, correct flow propagation, and causality. Finally, application of both dynamic assignment techniques to several test networks, including a medium-size network with 24 nodes and 76 links, shows that a proper way of associating costs with flows in discrete time is crucial to the calculation of plausible dynamic assignments.

The aim of this thesis was to bridge a gap in the research literature with regard to commentary on and evaluation of the relationship between British land-use planning and the management and development of the railway network in the years between 1948-94 when British railways were in public ownership. Although the research was focused on the nationalised main line system, it reviewed other rail systems where this was helpful to the analysis. The research utilised a review of the relationship between the railway network and urban form in the years to 1947 to derive analytical criteria and to serve as a point of departure for the core of the thesis. The overall relationship between the two sectors post-1948 was explored, at a broad geographical scale, with regard to institutional relationships, policy, and outcomes with regard to the spatial relationships between the railway network and patterns of urban form. The results of this research were used to derive hypotheses about the relationships which were then tested in a case study of the Manchester conurbation. The main conclusions are that there were few periods between 1948-94 when the ideological, institutional and policy frameworks necessary for a close and positive relationship between the planning and railway sectors were in place simultaneously. The contexts which were most favourable were with regard to: the location of new towns and town expansion projects in the South East in 1950s and 1960s; the improvement of railway networks in the PTE areas between 1968-79 along with the development of strategic policies for the restriction of major trip generators to CBDs; the period between 1985-94 when a surge in the property market was accompanied by BR Sectorisation, investment in other forms of fixed track transit, and the promotion of major development projects at and around stations, especially in CBDs. The research concludes by identifying opportunities for further historical research and briefly reviewing the relevance of the findings to contemporary research.

Shifts in developmental and environmental imperatives in the late 1980s and early 1990s have prompted concomitant reassessments of urban management practice. In this context, the urban village discourse has emerged as an alternative take on how to create the built landscape. The ideas promoted in the discourse have been quickly adopted into national policy and implemented in urban development projects. However, it is the argument of this thesis that such endorsement of urban village principles has been hasty and uncritical. Employing the urban village as a material example, this thesis examines the implications of the production of urban form in the communication of meanings and social relations. The approach uses 'landscape' as an organising concept. This approach acknowledges the ideological foundations of urban transformation processes and the role that the built landscape has in signifying societal intentions. What the investigation confirmed was that not only does the urban village discourse have a concern with fashioning physical environments, but it also attempts to procure specific social outcomes through the built form. Case studies of two urban village landscapes, that are currently under construction, are used to progress this argument. The first is a green field extension to a small county town, the Poundbury project in Dorchester, Dorset. The second is a regeneration scheme in the centre of a major city, the Crown Street project in Glasgow. Through these two urban landscapes it is possible to analyse the divergent application of urban village premises and ideologies amidst competing influences. The projects illustrate the diversity in physical form and economic context that is possible within the urban village discourse. However, their social agendas are closely aligned. Three principal arguments are made in the thesis. Firstly, that urban village conception and construction of the built environment communicates a specific conservative social order. Secondly, that when embracing new paradigms the planning and development communities need to make themselves aware of the intrinsic implications and complex ideological enterprises associated with them. Finally, that a critical landscape approach is a powerful tool for unveiling the foundations of newly emerging planning visions.

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Zimbabwe faces the large and challenging task of providing adequate housing for her rapidly expanding population. This study aims to analyse and identify urban low income housing policy failures and to provide a foundation for an effective and viable policy based on local experience. The housing and planning standards applied to solve the low income housing problem are questionable. The symptoms of the housing problem have surfaced as inaffordable housing, growing housing deficits inter alia, and the increasing inability to meet the needs of the urban poor. Consequently it is imperative that solutions are found and applied. The study begins by tracing the historical background of the urban low income housing problem before proceeding to examining the traditional built environment. The latter is described in the hope that relevant lessons may be copied from the traditional response to housing provision. Methods and problems of compiling housing need/housing shortage figures are also analysed with respect to their suitability for application in Zimbabwe. The present housing policies are subsequently analysed with a view to identifying policy failures and the relevance of solutions based on indigenous local experience. In that respect, the housing and planning standards currently used in low income housing policy as well as the existing institutions for low income housing finance are examined. In the final chapter, a summary and conclusions, followed by the section on proposals are laid out. Several broad aspects of housing policy are advanced before actual suggestions in an alternative urban development strategy are put forward. The Bertaud Model is employed in the analysis and derivation of suggested house, plot and layout designs. The Plan Evaluation Matrix assists in effecting a systematic choice between generated options. In addition, the final chapter also touches on the relevance of rural development in finding a solution to the urban low income housing problem.

The convening of the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992 represented a major milestone in the global debate on environment and development. This thesis, however, is not concerned about the broad views and perspectives advanced by developed and developing countries. Rather, the focus is at a much more micro level. The thesis examines the relationship between the environment and one aspect of development, namely, housing. The discussion centres on environmental conditions in low-income communities in a developing country: St. Lucia. This is really the reality of the debate within the boundaries of Small-Island Developing States (SIOS). As Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia states " ... peasants are likely to be far less concerned about holes in the ozone layer than about holes in their rooft" (in Main, 1994:3). It is within this context that the thesis is set. Brown agenda issues are becoming increasingly more evident in the cities of the developing world. In St. Lucia this is most visible in low-income housing communities. This thesis examines the underlying reasons for the neglect of low-income community environments and assesses whether there is a direct correlation between the level of government intervention in the establishment of these communities and the state of their household and neighbourhood environments. It also provides a comprehensive understanding of the operations of the formal and informal housing sectors in respect of low-income housing. The thesis argues that the State has failed in its attempts to provide lowincome housing and that low-income households have taken the provision of their shelter needs literally into their own hands. However, construction within the informal sector has resulted in serious environmental degradation. While households themselves are making some effort to address their environmental conditions, their actions tend to be reactive and ad-hoc, with little improvements being realized. These households have however acknowledged that they are unable by themselves to ameliorate their environmental conditions to any significant extent. They emphasize that the State must playa facilitating role in the process. This thesis is therefore concerned about the ways in which these stakeholders can work together to ensure the delivery of low-income housing within an environmentally sustainable framework. The argument put forward is that this can be achieved through an aided self-help approach, which will signal a new orientation towards the provision of low-income housing in St. Lucia and implicitly, a new environmental agenda for low-income communities.

This study presents an examination of office development in the regional city in the period 1960-1987. The economics and structure of the development industry are analysed and related to an examination of the property markets of Leicester, Nottingham and Northampton. Information was obtained from observation surveys, unpublished material (planning records), questionnaire surveys covering estate agents, development interests and investors in office property and a postal questionnaire to property development companies. Many office buildings constructed in regional cities are developed by highly centralized development companies. The relationship between this type of company and the space-economy forms a central component of this study. The organizational and structural constraints which restrict property companies' search strategies to specific locations and types of property are identified. A detailed examination is undertaken of the information sources development companies use to identify individual sites. The structure of the site identification process is identified and analysed in the context of the overall structure of the development industry. Two classifications of development companies are examined and criticized for their failure to consider the role of space. The development process must be considered as a key spatial process since it provides the link between the economy and the land surface. A new classification of developers is formulated which explicitly accounts for differences in the spatial extent of their activities. This classification is used to analyse the development decision making process and a modified version is used in the case studies. The examination of the structure of relations between the interests involved in the property development process is an important component of this study. Previous research has failed to consider the relationship between the four capitals involved in the development process. A series of development intermediaries are identified which mediate between these capitals and the space-economy. It is argued that the actions of occupiers, property developers, investors, and development intermediaries are influenced, determined and often manipulated by the structure of the existing financial and property markets.