Cities could not exist without infrastructure. Infrastructure provides a competitive advantage fo... more Cities could not exist without infrastructure. Infrastructure provides a competitive advantage for those cities that have high quality facilities, and high quality environments made possible by infrastructure. While the benefits of infrastructure are well known, the condition of infrastructure has been deteriorating for decades, precipitating crises and calls for action. This condition is a long time in the making, due to structural reasons outlined herein. In addition, the complexity, cost, and other factors have put politics and finance at the fore regarding infrastructure. As a consequence, planners have less of a purchase on infrastructure policy and strategy than in the past. Can planners recover their protagonism? What are key ideas that enable the urban planning profession to be at the forefront once again?
We are witnessing a rebirth of physical design, both in practice and the academy, spurred on by n... more We are witnessing a rebirth of physical design, both in practice and the academy, spurred on by neo-traditional community planning and neo-urbanism. This article attributes the sources of contemporary regional design to this renaissance. It also traces its origins to classic regional planning, which has been a professional activity for over a century. Regional design shapes the physical form of regions. It takes a regional perspective in guiding the arrangement of human settlements in communities. It is a strategy to accommodate growth by providing a physical framework to determine or guide the most bene®cial location, function, scale, and inter-relationships of communities within a region. This strategic function of regional design distinguishes it from urban and regional planning, apart from its focus on physical form. Communities, the links among them, and their environs are the three key physical components of regions that are the objects of regional design. Regional design strives to connect these communities by transport, communication, and other links into regional networks. Keeping the fringes or environs of the communities relatively sparsely settled is another aim. The article presents historic and contemporary examples of regional design in the US and Europe, and outlines principles for regional design.
In the face of ever-increasing population and tourism, coastal managers "nd it hard to keep their... more In the face of ever-increasing population and tourism, coastal managers "nd it hard to keep their shore towns and environs healthy and attractive. This occurs despite data pinpointing problem sources and experience o!ering proven solutions. While lack of will and money are often cited as key constraints, haphazard government responses are a signi"cant factor. This article documents New Jersey's approach to integrated coastal zone management. There planners, politicians and others joined to craft a policy using an innovative process called `cross-acceptancea. Cross-acceptance entails the collaborative development of policy by all levels of government along with civic and interest groups through comparison, negotiation and ratification. Cross-acceptance of coastal policy in New Jersey occurred in the context of the preparation of a politically charged strategic growth management plan for the entire state. This analysis examines the institutions and politics of coastal management planning and governing.
Over the past century, metropolitan regions have become the dominant economic units in global soc... more Over the past century, metropolitan regions have become the dominant economic units in global society. The multiple networks of organizations that govern growth in metropolises extend far beyond the geographic bounds of any particular region, and involve multiple levels of government. Large institutional networks are the emerging form of these multi-scalar interactions. That metropolitan region planning institutions are comprised of this new composite, termed multiscalar large institutional networks (MSLIN), has implications for theory, practice, and research, because they evolve, learn, and act on emergent phenomena and via emergent processes in extraordinarily complex and dynamic settings in ways radically distinct from individual organizations and institutions. This article assesses institutional theory in this framework by examining metropolitan infrastructure planning in Madrid, Barcelona, and San Diego.
Historical changes in planning and its theory
in the last century show planners and theorists
tur... more Historical changes in planning and its theory in the last century show planners and theorists turning away from the physical plan and its image of the city in favor of analytical modes of planning in the 1960s and 1970s and of discursive modes since the 1980s. In this article, I analyze those changes in the context of another historical change that has affected planning: the shift from government to governance. Until recently, urban planning was seen as state control over cities by governing institutions. As cities and governments experienced successive crises since the 1960s, planning underwent changes that enabled cities to administer their fortunes better. Planners invented new methods and institutions that brought in new actors. Planning was no longer government acting on the city. Now it is governance acting through the city. The role of planning and the use of images and plans in precipitating this move is explored. Three questions are posed. Why have images and plans, historically important carriers of planning knowledge and tools for urban change, gotten the short stick in current theories? What does this neglect have to do with the current state of theory? Is this neglect related to the epistemological split between knowledge and action?
This study addresses sustainable transportation in the Texas Urban Triangle at the regional scale... more This study addresses sustainable transportation in the Texas Urban Triangle at the regional scale. Its aim is to determine the most suitable corridor for new transport infrastructure by employing a spatial decision support system proposed in this project. The system is being tested through its application to a prototype corridor parallel to Interstate 35 between San Antonio and Austin. The basic research questions asked are spatial in nature, so accordingly the geographic infor- mation system is the primary method of data analysis. The overall modeling approach is devoted to answering the fol- lowing questions: What are the considerations to support sustainable growth? What scale or type of infrastructure is necessary? And how to adequately model the transportation corridors to meet the demands and to sustain the living en- vironment at the same time?
Previously, an analytical method was derived to model a possible high-speed rail route within the... more Previously, an analytical method was derived to model a possible high-speed rail route within the Texas Urban Triangle (TUT) area. By implementing a raster-based geographic information system (GIS), researchers were able to optimize a route with the given variables. Based on prior research outcomes, the authors improved the overall analytical approach. This article expands the study boundary from Travis County through Bexar County to test the corridor between the San Antonio and Austin metropolitan areas. Nearby counties are also included, resulting in a total of six counties. In addition, a statistical tool, explanatory factor analysis (EFA), is added to fill the gap identified in the previous modeling practices. The project addresses transportation corridor planning in the Texas Urban Triangle at the regional scale. Its aim is to determine the most suitable locations for new transport infrastructure by employing a Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS). The proposed SDSS provides a composite foundation for decision making to attain enhanced regional mobility, especially for a high-speed rail (HSR). Route alternatives are compared in terms of construction estimates, anticipated land acquisition fees, and suitability scores.
This article chronicles recent changes in planning practice. It documents the rise of strategic p... more This article chronicles recent changes in planning practice. It documents the rise of strategic planning and the move toward proactive planning centered on strategy, marketing, publicity and images. The author studies two cases. One is sub-regional, of the 'Great South' of metropolitan Madrid. The other is regional, of the program 'Madrid Metropolitan Region'. Planners created physical designs and rhetoric that encapsulated new images for the south and the entire metro area. The planners used the evoking image to craft the strategy, implement it, and build the institutions of regional planning and government. These cases suggest that external images (plans, photos) and internal images (in the mind's eye) are key to understanding how planning processes worked. It reveals the role images played in planning and political discourse, and how discourse was based on the image.
How are institutions born? How do they evolve? Can they die, do they fade away, or are they desti... more How are institutions born? How do they evolve? Can they die, do they fade away, or are they destined to bloat and muddle through? These fundamental questions of institutional theory and institutional change are at the core of politics, sociology, and urban planning, which, in part, can be seen as an applied field of the former two. Yet urban planning is more: It is an art, a science, and a field of design. Planning’s virtues include crafting images for a better future. This feature endows urban planning and design with cognitive characteristics that fill gaps in current understandings of institutions and of planning. It also suggests that a key facet of city planning is designing and managing organizations and institutions of governance. Metropolitan spatial planning, a specific practice of urban planning, is a fertile field in which to empirically analyze these matters. This article reports on the evolution of metropolitan planning in Madrid from 1910 to 1995. Some important aspects of planning have changed over this period, while others have remained almost unaltered. The tension between forces supporting continuity and forces struggling for change provided an animating dialectic that helps explain the evolution of planning and its institutions in the capital of Spain. This dialectic of continuity and change is inherent in the nature of urban planning, and it has important implications for planning practice and scholarship (Neuman & Gavinha, 2005).
At the 2005 Spring Meeting of the AIChE, we discussed sustainability in a broad context and propo... more At the 2005 Spring Meeting of the AIChE, we discussed sustainability in a broad context and proposed that the limitations imposed by the second law of thermodynamics and by process rates be considered as well as the conservation of energy, matter, species, and ecosystems; and furthermore that more care be taken in identifying the system, that is the location of the physical or conceptual envelope. That analysis suggested that the choice of that envelope is the primary source of the contradictory conclusions that pervade the current literature relative to the sustainability of different sources of energy and raw materials. Herein, we propose a mathematical model for the quantitative description and comparison of various fuels, processes, infrastructures, and schemes to determine their relative degrees of sustainability, thereby providing a basis for technological and political choices. This model is intended to be dynamic and independent of scale. It includes both stationary and dynamic behavior and extends beyond the conservation of species and energy. So-doing permits the inclusion of sustainability in the cost-benefit analysis of engineering processes and technologies. Even so, our approach is handicapped by the difficulty of describing quantities such as the quality of life in mathematical terms.
This paper assesses the legacy of Catalan engineer-planner Ildefons Cerdà. It highlights his 1859... more This paper assesses the legacy of Catalan engineer-planner Ildefons Cerdà. It highlights his 1859 plan for Barcelona and his 1867 text The General Theory of Urbanisation. It exposes elements of the theory, methods, and plan of this planning pioneer; and situates them in the context of the times, and in the context of the emergence of the modern urban planning movement. The paper also indicates the importance of the Cerdà plan for planning in Barcelona over the twentieth century. Lastly, it discusses its relevance for the twenty-first century, in which network urbanism and system integration are critical watchwords for planning progress and sustainability.
A fundamental aspect of city planning deals with designing and managing institutions that affect... more A fundamental aspect of city planning deals with designing and managing institutions that affect the future quality of urban places. The focus of the research reported in this article is on the evolution of city and metropolitan planning in Madrid from 1857 to 1995. In Madrid, important aspects of planning have changed over this period, while others have remained almost unaltered. The tension between forces supporting continuity or struggling for change provided an animating dialectic that explains the evolution of urban planning and its institutions in the capital of Spain. This dialectic of continuity and change is inherent in the nature of planning institutions themselves, as we argue in the conclusion, and has important implications for planning theory.
This article presents a broad-ranging analysis of the concept of infrastructure that is consonant... more This article presents a broad-ranging analysis of the concept of infrastructure that is consonant with contemporary conditions in both research and practice. While specific definitions of infrastructure inform and reflect professional and lay understanding, they have hampered the development of infrastructure and its policy in important ways. This hindrance is particularly evident in budgeting, financing, and policy making, where categories of action are based on strict legal definitions. Moreover, these restricting definitions have distanced the urban planning profession from the ambit of other professionals in the practices of infrastructure policy and management, a situation which has been detrimental to the implantation and use of infrastructures in society. Based on this initial and exploratory analysis, policy implications and suggestions for research conclude.
Great cities are born of and give rise to great infrastructure. Historically, city planning has ... more Great cities are born of and give rise to great infrastructure. Historically, city planning has been deeply rooted in infrastructure and physical planning. One of its ontological bases has been to create urban place out of space through the intermediary of infrastructure. Currently, the links between infrastructure and city planning may be described as numerous but non-strategic and non-comprehensive, even as the bond between infrastructure and cities remains tight. In part, this is because the planning profession has left key roles in infrastructure to other professions. This article chronicles the rises and falls in the fortunes of urban infrastructure in relation to city planning.
Savvy planners around the globe have always used infrastructure as a key tool in their box. Toda... more Savvy planners around the globe have always used infrastructure as a key tool in their box. Today in the United States, the strategic use of infrastructure is being revived, and offers a new opportunity for the planning profession and academy. This essay assesses links between infrastructure and city planning. The aim is to show how infrastructure provision can improve by being in the hands of planners, and how planning can improve by employing infrastructure strategically. It suggests that infrastructure services and the cities and activities that they support benefit greatly if planned, designed, and financed comprehensively, using a life cycle approach, with the form, function, and sustainability of the city in mind. Building on this insight, infrastructure provides a basis for an invigorated planning practice that is strategic and visionary, yet grounded and pragmatic – a combination suited for effective planning leadership.
Infrastructure is vital to the creation of sustainable cities, and proper planning is vital to th... more Infrastructure is vital to the creation of sustainable cities, and proper planning is vital to the creation of sustainable infrastructure, including and in particular with reference to critical infrastructures. This article integrates several strands of infrastructure planning into an integrated and comprehensive approach applicable at any scale. The approach involves two steps: performing a demand-capacity analysis of the geographic area being planned, to determine the overall amount of infrastructure services needed at a specified future time; and conducting a life cycle analysis of an infrastructure network, which permits sustainable stewardship over the infrastructure’s entire working life. This links infrastructure planning with urban planning and provides a quantitative basis for sustainable infrastructure.
Sustainability is high on many research and policy agendas, and a number of specific models to me... more Sustainability is high on many research and policy agendas, and a number of specific models to measure sustainability have been developed. However, most models are based only on the first law of thermodynamics, and thereby are incomplete and approximate. Sustainable processes are those whose rates are maintained over time without exceeding the innate ability of its surroundings to support the process. We present a model for measuring the sustainability of processes that adapts and integrates the first and second laws of thermodynamics and the concept of rate processes, thereby forming a new synthesis. The degree of sustainability of a process, whether ecological, economic, social, chemical, or biological is expressed quantitatively in terms of algebraic equations. It is a dynamic approach that applies at any scale and takes into consideration the spatial and temporal factors of processes, thus permitting empirical applications that correspond to real world conditions (dynamic, complex, and evolving). These characteristics make it especially suitable for applications in the fields of chemistry, chemical engineering, and ecology.
Cities could not exist without infrastructure. Infrastructure provides a competitive advantage fo... more Cities could not exist without infrastructure. Infrastructure provides a competitive advantage for those cities that have high quality facilities, and high quality environments made possible by infrastructure. While the benefits of infrastructure are well known, the condition of infrastructure has been deteriorating for decades, precipitating crises and calls for action. This condition is a long time in the making, due to structural reasons outlined herein. In addition, the complexity, cost, and other factors have put politics and finance at the fore regarding infrastructure. As a consequence, planners have less of a purchase on infrastructure policy and strategy than in the past. Can planners recover their protagonism? What are key ideas that enable the urban planning profession to be at the forefront once again?
We are witnessing a rebirth of physical design, both in practice and the academy, spurred on by n... more We are witnessing a rebirth of physical design, both in practice and the academy, spurred on by neo-traditional community planning and neo-urbanism. This article attributes the sources of contemporary regional design to this renaissance. It also traces its origins to classic regional planning, which has been a professional activity for over a century. Regional design shapes the physical form of regions. It takes a regional perspective in guiding the arrangement of human settlements in communities. It is a strategy to accommodate growth by providing a physical framework to determine or guide the most bene®cial location, function, scale, and inter-relationships of communities within a region. This strategic function of regional design distinguishes it from urban and regional planning, apart from its focus on physical form. Communities, the links among them, and their environs are the three key physical components of regions that are the objects of regional design. Regional design strives to connect these communities by transport, communication, and other links into regional networks. Keeping the fringes or environs of the communities relatively sparsely settled is another aim. The article presents historic and contemporary examples of regional design in the US and Europe, and outlines principles for regional design.
In the face of ever-increasing population and tourism, coastal managers "nd it hard to keep their... more In the face of ever-increasing population and tourism, coastal managers "nd it hard to keep their shore towns and environs healthy and attractive. This occurs despite data pinpointing problem sources and experience o!ering proven solutions. While lack of will and money are often cited as key constraints, haphazard government responses are a signi"cant factor. This article documents New Jersey's approach to integrated coastal zone management. There planners, politicians and others joined to craft a policy using an innovative process called `cross-acceptancea. Cross-acceptance entails the collaborative development of policy by all levels of government along with civic and interest groups through comparison, negotiation and ratification. Cross-acceptance of coastal policy in New Jersey occurred in the context of the preparation of a politically charged strategic growth management plan for the entire state. This analysis examines the institutions and politics of coastal management planning and governing.
Over the past century, metropolitan regions have become the dominant economic units in global soc... more Over the past century, metropolitan regions have become the dominant economic units in global society. The multiple networks of organizations that govern growth in metropolises extend far beyond the geographic bounds of any particular region, and involve multiple levels of government. Large institutional networks are the emerging form of these multi-scalar interactions. That metropolitan region planning institutions are comprised of this new composite, termed multiscalar large institutional networks (MSLIN), has implications for theory, practice, and research, because they evolve, learn, and act on emergent phenomena and via emergent processes in extraordinarily complex and dynamic settings in ways radically distinct from individual organizations and institutions. This article assesses institutional theory in this framework by examining metropolitan infrastructure planning in Madrid, Barcelona, and San Diego.
Historical changes in planning and its theory
in the last century show planners and theorists
tur... more Historical changes in planning and its theory in the last century show planners and theorists turning away from the physical plan and its image of the city in favor of analytical modes of planning in the 1960s and 1970s and of discursive modes since the 1980s. In this article, I analyze those changes in the context of another historical change that has affected planning: the shift from government to governance. Until recently, urban planning was seen as state control over cities by governing institutions. As cities and governments experienced successive crises since the 1960s, planning underwent changes that enabled cities to administer their fortunes better. Planners invented new methods and institutions that brought in new actors. Planning was no longer government acting on the city. Now it is governance acting through the city. The role of planning and the use of images and plans in precipitating this move is explored. Three questions are posed. Why have images and plans, historically important carriers of planning knowledge and tools for urban change, gotten the short stick in current theories? What does this neglect have to do with the current state of theory? Is this neglect related to the epistemological split between knowledge and action?
This study addresses sustainable transportation in the Texas Urban Triangle at the regional scale... more This study addresses sustainable transportation in the Texas Urban Triangle at the regional scale. Its aim is to determine the most suitable corridor for new transport infrastructure by employing a spatial decision support system proposed in this project. The system is being tested through its application to a prototype corridor parallel to Interstate 35 between San Antonio and Austin. The basic research questions asked are spatial in nature, so accordingly the geographic infor- mation system is the primary method of data analysis. The overall modeling approach is devoted to answering the fol- lowing questions: What are the considerations to support sustainable growth? What scale or type of infrastructure is necessary? And how to adequately model the transportation corridors to meet the demands and to sustain the living en- vironment at the same time?
Previously, an analytical method was derived to model a possible high-speed rail route within the... more Previously, an analytical method was derived to model a possible high-speed rail route within the Texas Urban Triangle (TUT) area. By implementing a raster-based geographic information system (GIS), researchers were able to optimize a route with the given variables. Based on prior research outcomes, the authors improved the overall analytical approach. This article expands the study boundary from Travis County through Bexar County to test the corridor between the San Antonio and Austin metropolitan areas. Nearby counties are also included, resulting in a total of six counties. In addition, a statistical tool, explanatory factor analysis (EFA), is added to fill the gap identified in the previous modeling practices. The project addresses transportation corridor planning in the Texas Urban Triangle at the regional scale. Its aim is to determine the most suitable locations for new transport infrastructure by employing a Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS). The proposed SDSS provides a composite foundation for decision making to attain enhanced regional mobility, especially for a high-speed rail (HSR). Route alternatives are compared in terms of construction estimates, anticipated land acquisition fees, and suitability scores.
This article chronicles recent changes in planning practice. It documents the rise of strategic p... more This article chronicles recent changes in planning practice. It documents the rise of strategic planning and the move toward proactive planning centered on strategy, marketing, publicity and images. The author studies two cases. One is sub-regional, of the 'Great South' of metropolitan Madrid. The other is regional, of the program 'Madrid Metropolitan Region'. Planners created physical designs and rhetoric that encapsulated new images for the south and the entire metro area. The planners used the evoking image to craft the strategy, implement it, and build the institutions of regional planning and government. These cases suggest that external images (plans, photos) and internal images (in the mind's eye) are key to understanding how planning processes worked. It reveals the role images played in planning and political discourse, and how discourse was based on the image.
How are institutions born? How do they evolve? Can they die, do they fade away, or are they desti... more How are institutions born? How do they evolve? Can they die, do they fade away, or are they destined to bloat and muddle through? These fundamental questions of institutional theory and institutional change are at the core of politics, sociology, and urban planning, which, in part, can be seen as an applied field of the former two. Yet urban planning is more: It is an art, a science, and a field of design. Planning’s virtues include crafting images for a better future. This feature endows urban planning and design with cognitive characteristics that fill gaps in current understandings of institutions and of planning. It also suggests that a key facet of city planning is designing and managing organizations and institutions of governance. Metropolitan spatial planning, a specific practice of urban planning, is a fertile field in which to empirically analyze these matters. This article reports on the evolution of metropolitan planning in Madrid from 1910 to 1995. Some important aspects of planning have changed over this period, while others have remained almost unaltered. The tension between forces supporting continuity and forces struggling for change provided an animating dialectic that helps explain the evolution of planning and its institutions in the capital of Spain. This dialectic of continuity and change is inherent in the nature of urban planning, and it has important implications for planning practice and scholarship (Neuman & Gavinha, 2005).
At the 2005 Spring Meeting of the AIChE, we discussed sustainability in a broad context and propo... more At the 2005 Spring Meeting of the AIChE, we discussed sustainability in a broad context and proposed that the limitations imposed by the second law of thermodynamics and by process rates be considered as well as the conservation of energy, matter, species, and ecosystems; and furthermore that more care be taken in identifying the system, that is the location of the physical or conceptual envelope. That analysis suggested that the choice of that envelope is the primary source of the contradictory conclusions that pervade the current literature relative to the sustainability of different sources of energy and raw materials. Herein, we propose a mathematical model for the quantitative description and comparison of various fuels, processes, infrastructures, and schemes to determine their relative degrees of sustainability, thereby providing a basis for technological and political choices. This model is intended to be dynamic and independent of scale. It includes both stationary and dynamic behavior and extends beyond the conservation of species and energy. So-doing permits the inclusion of sustainability in the cost-benefit analysis of engineering processes and technologies. Even so, our approach is handicapped by the difficulty of describing quantities such as the quality of life in mathematical terms.
This paper assesses the legacy of Catalan engineer-planner Ildefons Cerdà. It highlights his 1859... more This paper assesses the legacy of Catalan engineer-planner Ildefons Cerdà. It highlights his 1859 plan for Barcelona and his 1867 text The General Theory of Urbanisation. It exposes elements of the theory, methods, and plan of this planning pioneer; and situates them in the context of the times, and in the context of the emergence of the modern urban planning movement. The paper also indicates the importance of the Cerdà plan for planning in Barcelona over the twentieth century. Lastly, it discusses its relevance for the twenty-first century, in which network urbanism and system integration are critical watchwords for planning progress and sustainability.
A fundamental aspect of city planning deals with designing and managing institutions that affect... more A fundamental aspect of city planning deals with designing and managing institutions that affect the future quality of urban places. The focus of the research reported in this article is on the evolution of city and metropolitan planning in Madrid from 1857 to 1995. In Madrid, important aspects of planning have changed over this period, while others have remained almost unaltered. The tension between forces supporting continuity or struggling for change provided an animating dialectic that explains the evolution of urban planning and its institutions in the capital of Spain. This dialectic of continuity and change is inherent in the nature of planning institutions themselves, as we argue in the conclusion, and has important implications for planning theory.
This article presents a broad-ranging analysis of the concept of infrastructure that is consonant... more This article presents a broad-ranging analysis of the concept of infrastructure that is consonant with contemporary conditions in both research and practice. While specific definitions of infrastructure inform and reflect professional and lay understanding, they have hampered the development of infrastructure and its policy in important ways. This hindrance is particularly evident in budgeting, financing, and policy making, where categories of action are based on strict legal definitions. Moreover, these restricting definitions have distanced the urban planning profession from the ambit of other professionals in the practices of infrastructure policy and management, a situation which has been detrimental to the implantation and use of infrastructures in society. Based on this initial and exploratory analysis, policy implications and suggestions for research conclude.
Great cities are born of and give rise to great infrastructure. Historically, city planning has ... more Great cities are born of and give rise to great infrastructure. Historically, city planning has been deeply rooted in infrastructure and physical planning. One of its ontological bases has been to create urban place out of space through the intermediary of infrastructure. Currently, the links between infrastructure and city planning may be described as numerous but non-strategic and non-comprehensive, even as the bond between infrastructure and cities remains tight. In part, this is because the planning profession has left key roles in infrastructure to other professions. This article chronicles the rises and falls in the fortunes of urban infrastructure in relation to city planning.
Savvy planners around the globe have always used infrastructure as a key tool in their box. Toda... more Savvy planners around the globe have always used infrastructure as a key tool in their box. Today in the United States, the strategic use of infrastructure is being revived, and offers a new opportunity for the planning profession and academy. This essay assesses links between infrastructure and city planning. The aim is to show how infrastructure provision can improve by being in the hands of planners, and how planning can improve by employing infrastructure strategically. It suggests that infrastructure services and the cities and activities that they support benefit greatly if planned, designed, and financed comprehensively, using a life cycle approach, with the form, function, and sustainability of the city in mind. Building on this insight, infrastructure provides a basis for an invigorated planning practice that is strategic and visionary, yet grounded and pragmatic – a combination suited for effective planning leadership.
Infrastructure is vital to the creation of sustainable cities, and proper planning is vital to th... more Infrastructure is vital to the creation of sustainable cities, and proper planning is vital to the creation of sustainable infrastructure, including and in particular with reference to critical infrastructures. This article integrates several strands of infrastructure planning into an integrated and comprehensive approach applicable at any scale. The approach involves two steps: performing a demand-capacity analysis of the geographic area being planned, to determine the overall amount of infrastructure services needed at a specified future time; and conducting a life cycle analysis of an infrastructure network, which permits sustainable stewardship over the infrastructure’s entire working life. This links infrastructure planning with urban planning and provides a quantitative basis for sustainable infrastructure.
Sustainability is high on many research and policy agendas, and a number of specific models to me... more Sustainability is high on many research and policy agendas, and a number of specific models to measure sustainability have been developed. However, most models are based only on the first law of thermodynamics, and thereby are incomplete and approximate. Sustainable processes are those whose rates are maintained over time without exceeding the innate ability of its surroundings to support the process. We present a model for measuring the sustainability of processes that adapts and integrates the first and second laws of thermodynamics and the concept of rate processes, thereby forming a new synthesis. The degree of sustainability of a process, whether ecological, economic, social, chemical, or biological is expressed quantitatively in terms of algebraic equations. It is a dynamic approach that applies at any scale and takes into consideration the spatial and temporal factors of processes, thus permitting empirical applications that correspond to real world conditions (dynamic, complex, and evolving). These characteristics make it especially suitable for applications in the fields of chemistry, chemical engineering, and ecology.
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Papers by michael neuman
well known, the condition of infrastructure has been deteriorating for decades, precipitating crises and calls for action. This condition is a long time in the making, due to structural reasons outlined herein. In addition, the complexity, cost, and other
factors have put politics and finance at the fore regarding infrastructure. As a
consequence, planners have less of a purchase on infrastructure policy and strategy
than in the past. Can planners recover their protagonism? What are key ideas that
enable the urban planning profession to be at the forefront once again?
planning and neo-urbanism. This article attributes the sources of contemporary regional design to this renaissance. It also
traces its origins to classic regional planning, which has been a professional activity for over a century. Regional design shapes
the physical form of regions. It takes a regional perspective in guiding the arrangement of human settlements in communities.
It is a strategy to accommodate growth by providing a physical framework to determine or guide the most bene®cial location,
function, scale, and inter-relationships of communities within a region. This strategic function of regional design distinguishes
it from urban and regional planning, apart from its focus on physical form. Communities, the links among them, and their
environs are the three key physical components of regions that are the objects of regional design. Regional design strives to
connect these communities by transport, communication, and other links into regional networks. Keeping the fringes or
environs of the communities relatively sparsely settled is another aim. The article presents historic and contemporary
examples of regional design in the US and Europe, and outlines principles for regional design.
problem sources and experience o!ering proven solutions. While lack of will and money are often cited as key constraints, haphazard government responses are a signi"cant factor. This
article documents New Jersey's approach to integrated coastal zone management. There planners, politicians and others joined to craft a policy using an innovative process called
`cross-acceptancea. Cross-acceptance entails the collaborative development of policy by all
levels of government along with civic and interest groups through comparison, negotiation and ratification. Cross-acceptance of coastal policy in New Jersey occurred in the context of
the preparation of a politically charged strategic growth management plan for the entire state.
This analysis examines the institutions and politics of coastal management planning and governing.
That metropolitan region planning institutions are comprised of this new composite, termed multiscalar
large institutional networks (MSLIN), has implications for theory, practice, and research,
because they evolve, learn, and act on emergent phenomena and via emergent processes in
extraordinarily complex and dynamic settings in ways radically distinct from individual
organizations and institutions. This article assesses institutional theory in this framework by
examining metropolitan infrastructure planning in Madrid, Barcelona, and San Diego.
in the last century show planners and theorists
turning away from the physical plan and its
image of the city in favor of analytical modes
of planning in the 1960s and 1970s and of
discursive modes since the 1980s. In this
article, I analyze those changes in the context
of another historical change that has affected
planning: the shift from government to
governance. Until recently, urban planning
was seen as state control over cities by
governing institutions. As cities and
governments experienced successive crises
since the 1960s, planning underwent changes
that enabled cities to administer their fortunes
better. Planners invented new methods and
institutions that brought in new actors.
Planning was no longer government acting on
the city. Now it is governance acting through
the city. The role of planning and the use of
images and plans in precipitating this move is
explored. Three questions are posed. Why
have images and plans, historically important
carriers of planning knowledge and tools for
urban change, gotten the short stick in current
theories? What does this neglect have to do
with the current state of theory? Is this neglect
related to the epistemological split between
knowledge and action?
San Antonio and Austin. The basic research questions asked are spatial in nature, so accordingly the geographic infor-
mation system is the primary method of data analysis. The overall modeling approach is devoted to answering the fol-
lowing questions: What are the considerations to support sustainable growth? What scale or type of infrastructure is necessary? And how to adequately model the transportation corridors to meet the demands and to sustain the living en-
vironment at the same time?
areas. Nearby counties are also included, resulting in a total of six counties. In addition, a statistical tool, explanatory factor analysis (EFA), is added to fill the gap identified in the previous modeling practices. The project addresses transportation corridor planning in the Texas Urban Triangle at the regional scale.
Its aim is to determine the most suitable locations for new transport infrastructure by employing a Spatial
Decision Support System (SDSS). The proposed SDSS provides a composite foundation for decision
making to attain enhanced regional mobility, especially for a high-speed rail (HSR). Route alternatives are compared in terms of construction estimates, anticipated land acquisition fees, and suitability scores.
regional, of the program 'Madrid Metropolitan Region'. Planners created physical designs and rhetoric that
encapsulated new images for the south and the entire metro area. The planners used the evoking image to craft
the strategy, implement it, and build the institutions of regional planning and government. These cases suggest
that external images (plans, photos) and internal images (in the mind's eye) are key to understanding how
planning processes worked. It reveals the role images played in planning and political discourse, and how
discourse was based on the image.
design with cognitive characteristics that fill gaps in current understandings of institutions and of planning. It also suggests that a key facet of city planning is designing and managing organizations and institutions of governance. Metropolitan
spatial planning, a specific practice of urban planning, is a fertile field in which to empirically analyze these matters.
This article reports on the evolution of metropolitan planning in Madrid from 1910 to 1995. Some important aspects of planning have changed over this period, while others have remained almost unaltered. The tension between forces supporting continuity and forces struggling for change provided an animating dialectic that helps explain the evolution of planning and its institutions in the capital of Spain. This dialectic of continuity and change is
inherent in the nature of urban planning, and it has important implications for planning practice and scholarship (Neuman & Gavinha, 2005).
Herein, we propose a mathematical model for the quantitative description and comparison of various fuels, processes, infrastructures, and schemes to determine their relative degrees of sustainability, thereby providing a basis for technological and
political choices. This model is intended to be dynamic and independent of scale. It includes both stationary and dynamic behavior and extends beyond the conservation of
species and energy. So-doing permits the inclusion of sustainability in the cost-benefit analysis of engineering processes and technologies. Even so, our approach is handicapped by the difficulty of describing quantities such as the quality of life in
mathematical terms.
plan for Barcelona and his 1867 text The General Theory of Urbanisation. It exposes elements of the
theory, methods, and plan of this planning pioneer; and situates them in the context of the times, and
in the context of the emergence of the modern urban planning movement. The paper also indicates the
importance of the Cerdà plan for planning in Barcelona over the twentieth century. Lastly, it discusses
its relevance for the twenty-first century, in which network urbanism and system integration are critical
watchwords for planning progress and sustainability.
well known, the condition of infrastructure has been deteriorating for decades, precipitating crises and calls for action. This condition is a long time in the making, due to structural reasons outlined herein. In addition, the complexity, cost, and other
factors have put politics and finance at the fore regarding infrastructure. As a
consequence, planners have less of a purchase on infrastructure policy and strategy
than in the past. Can planners recover their protagonism? What are key ideas that
enable the urban planning profession to be at the forefront once again?
planning and neo-urbanism. This article attributes the sources of contemporary regional design to this renaissance. It also
traces its origins to classic regional planning, which has been a professional activity for over a century. Regional design shapes
the physical form of regions. It takes a regional perspective in guiding the arrangement of human settlements in communities.
It is a strategy to accommodate growth by providing a physical framework to determine or guide the most bene®cial location,
function, scale, and inter-relationships of communities within a region. This strategic function of regional design distinguishes
it from urban and regional planning, apart from its focus on physical form. Communities, the links among them, and their
environs are the three key physical components of regions that are the objects of regional design. Regional design strives to
connect these communities by transport, communication, and other links into regional networks. Keeping the fringes or
environs of the communities relatively sparsely settled is another aim. The article presents historic and contemporary
examples of regional design in the US and Europe, and outlines principles for regional design.
problem sources and experience o!ering proven solutions. While lack of will and money are often cited as key constraints, haphazard government responses are a signi"cant factor. This
article documents New Jersey's approach to integrated coastal zone management. There planners, politicians and others joined to craft a policy using an innovative process called
`cross-acceptancea. Cross-acceptance entails the collaborative development of policy by all
levels of government along with civic and interest groups through comparison, negotiation and ratification. Cross-acceptance of coastal policy in New Jersey occurred in the context of
the preparation of a politically charged strategic growth management plan for the entire state.
This analysis examines the institutions and politics of coastal management planning and governing.
That metropolitan region planning institutions are comprised of this new composite, termed multiscalar
large institutional networks (MSLIN), has implications for theory, practice, and research,
because they evolve, learn, and act on emergent phenomena and via emergent processes in
extraordinarily complex and dynamic settings in ways radically distinct from individual
organizations and institutions. This article assesses institutional theory in this framework by
examining metropolitan infrastructure planning in Madrid, Barcelona, and San Diego.
in the last century show planners and theorists
turning away from the physical plan and its
image of the city in favor of analytical modes
of planning in the 1960s and 1970s and of
discursive modes since the 1980s. In this
article, I analyze those changes in the context
of another historical change that has affected
planning: the shift from government to
governance. Until recently, urban planning
was seen as state control over cities by
governing institutions. As cities and
governments experienced successive crises
since the 1960s, planning underwent changes
that enabled cities to administer their fortunes
better. Planners invented new methods and
institutions that brought in new actors.
Planning was no longer government acting on
the city. Now it is governance acting through
the city. The role of planning and the use of
images and plans in precipitating this move is
explored. Three questions are posed. Why
have images and plans, historically important
carriers of planning knowledge and tools for
urban change, gotten the short stick in current
theories? What does this neglect have to do
with the current state of theory? Is this neglect
related to the epistemological split between
knowledge and action?
San Antonio and Austin. The basic research questions asked are spatial in nature, so accordingly the geographic infor-
mation system is the primary method of data analysis. The overall modeling approach is devoted to answering the fol-
lowing questions: What are the considerations to support sustainable growth? What scale or type of infrastructure is necessary? And how to adequately model the transportation corridors to meet the demands and to sustain the living en-
vironment at the same time?
areas. Nearby counties are also included, resulting in a total of six counties. In addition, a statistical tool, explanatory factor analysis (EFA), is added to fill the gap identified in the previous modeling practices. The project addresses transportation corridor planning in the Texas Urban Triangle at the regional scale.
Its aim is to determine the most suitable locations for new transport infrastructure by employing a Spatial
Decision Support System (SDSS). The proposed SDSS provides a composite foundation for decision
making to attain enhanced regional mobility, especially for a high-speed rail (HSR). Route alternatives are compared in terms of construction estimates, anticipated land acquisition fees, and suitability scores.
regional, of the program 'Madrid Metropolitan Region'. Planners created physical designs and rhetoric that
encapsulated new images for the south and the entire metro area. The planners used the evoking image to craft
the strategy, implement it, and build the institutions of regional planning and government. These cases suggest
that external images (plans, photos) and internal images (in the mind's eye) are key to understanding how
planning processes worked. It reveals the role images played in planning and political discourse, and how
discourse was based on the image.
design with cognitive characteristics that fill gaps in current understandings of institutions and of planning. It also suggests that a key facet of city planning is designing and managing organizations and institutions of governance. Metropolitan
spatial planning, a specific practice of urban planning, is a fertile field in which to empirically analyze these matters.
This article reports on the evolution of metropolitan planning in Madrid from 1910 to 1995. Some important aspects of planning have changed over this period, while others have remained almost unaltered. The tension between forces supporting continuity and forces struggling for change provided an animating dialectic that helps explain the evolution of planning and its institutions in the capital of Spain. This dialectic of continuity and change is
inherent in the nature of urban planning, and it has important implications for planning practice and scholarship (Neuman & Gavinha, 2005).
Herein, we propose a mathematical model for the quantitative description and comparison of various fuels, processes, infrastructures, and schemes to determine their relative degrees of sustainability, thereby providing a basis for technological and
political choices. This model is intended to be dynamic and independent of scale. It includes both stationary and dynamic behavior and extends beyond the conservation of
species and energy. So-doing permits the inclusion of sustainability in the cost-benefit analysis of engineering processes and technologies. Even so, our approach is handicapped by the difficulty of describing quantities such as the quality of life in
mathematical terms.
plan for Barcelona and his 1867 text The General Theory of Urbanisation. It exposes elements of the
theory, methods, and plan of this planning pioneer; and situates them in the context of the times, and
in the context of the emergence of the modern urban planning movement. The paper also indicates the
importance of the Cerdà plan for planning in Barcelona over the twentieth century. Lastly, it discusses
its relevance for the twenty-first century, in which network urbanism and system integration are critical
watchwords for planning progress and sustainability.