David W. Edgington, Antonio L. Fernandez , Claudia Hoshino
August 2001, Greenwood Press

Covering experiences from transitional, industrialized, and developing economies, this timely book emphasizes the critical prerequisites for effective regional planning. These prerequisites include sustainable institutions, social mechanisms, trust relationships, leadership, and public-private sector partnerships. Questioning many conventional approaches, the book considers the changing context in which regional planning now occurs. Exploring globalization, regions straddling international borders, the position of transitional economies, decentralization and empowerment of local governments, regional competitiveness, mega-urban regions, and new forms of regional governments this work covers much ground. Using such examples as the Arizona-Sonora corridor, the book specifically considers cross-border regions, or trade corridors, including the need to include economic complementarity and cultural differences in development policy. Examining the need to redefine regional planning, the book concludes with innovative strategies from China, Thailand, Japan, and the Philippines as well as the Americas. With contributions from both academe and practitioners, the volume shows that regional development planning involves integrated physical, economic, and social planning and that regional development planning has to address new regional forms, regional competition, and local governance. Based on fully revised papers given at a United Nations Centre for Regional Development conference, the book illustrates the changing context in which regional planning is now conducted, thereby providing a useful resource for planners and academics.