Introduction: Spatial Planning at the Intersection Among Complexity, Institutions, and Justice

This chapter outlines the three main focuses of the book, which are regarded as closely interrelated: the inherent complexity of the systems with which planning must engage—such as urban systems; the need to take serious account of the institutional framework and the institutional levels within which all public planning activities take place; the crucial importance of justice for planning intervention. The specific and systematic attention paid by the book to “institutional issues” and “justice issues”, and the connection of both with the question of “complexity”, is new among introductions to planning theory and practice.