[...]... two decades in which the philosophy and methods of the Strategic Choice approach have provided the central thread of my consulting career, helping to turn the ideals of democratic planning into reality Planning under Pressure is not a theoretical study From my 20 years working as a facilitator using the concepts of strategic choice, I can witness to the practical value of this book The fact that it now... used in teaching depends on the educational environment In the example cited above, the students were in the third year of an undergraduate course: But ideally the students should be introduced to the concepts of strategic choice in the first year, and the approach built up throughout the course Finally, I believe the stage of development of strategic choice in this book is not the final one One of its greatest... that of Andreas Faludi who, from his Chair in Planning at the University of Amsterdam, has persistently sought to encourage development of the comparatively neglected academic perspectives of the strategic choice approach, and the study of its relatedness to other bodies of planning theory Others who have contributed to the development of the approach over the years include many past and present members... companion Planning under Pressure website xiv Authors’ preface to the first edition HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE Twelve years have passed between the conception and completion of this book For a book concerned with Planning under Pressure, that may seem a surprisingly long time But the 12 years of gestation have seen much in the way of development both in the practice and the theory of the general approach to planning. .. illustrating the approach in use in a workshop setting Above and below most of the figures will be found various key words and symbols These are designed to help the reader in making rapid cross-references within the text Their meaning will be explained in the next section THE STRUCTURE OF THE BOOK Three of the fourteen chapters – Chapters 1, 4 and 9 – present the main characteristics of the strategic choice approach. .. start reading Planning under Pressure? Your choice will depend on the nature of your interests; the time at your disposal; and the extent of any prior familiarity you may have with the strategic choice approach The purpose of this quick access guide is to help you in making your decisions about selective reading It does so first by outlining the principles on which the book is designed, then by making... which any approach to planning can be described and compared to others These four aspects, expressed through the mnemonic A-TOPP, are as follows: Approach : Technology Organisation Process Product In most of the figures of these two chapters, you will see that the aspect of the approach which is currently in the foreground is highlighted in the lower left-hand corner xxi A quick access guide The intervening... describe some of the many ways in which other people have interpreted and sometimes transformed the toolbox for strategic choice to fit different contexts of decision-making Then Chapter 13 brings together twenty-one invited contributors in reporting their experiences and the lessons that they draw from them Finally, Chapter 14 reviews the altered horizons of future development as they appear at the time this... aspirations can be achieved The approach to strategic choice to be built up in this chapter is not only about making decisions at a supposedly strategic level It goes beyond this in addressing the making of any decisions in the light of their links to other decisions, whether they be at a broader policy level or a more specific action level; whether they be more immediate or longer term in their time horizons;... views about the shape of the issues they faced and, not least, about how closely or widely the boundaries of their concern should be drawn; that there were persistent pressures for them to arrive at commitments to action in an incremental or piecemeal way, however committed they might be in theory to the idea of taking a broader, more comprehensive view of the issues before them; that there was a continuing . under Pressure, that may seem a surprisingly long time. But the 12 years of gestation have seen much in the way of development both in the practice and the theory of the general approach to planning. of democratic planning into reality. Planning under Pressure is not a theoretical study. From my 20 years working as a facilitator using the concepts of strategic choice, I can witness to the practical. it’ guide to the approach. So, the understanding at the end of 1973 was xv Authors’ preface to the first edition that the three of us would work on this task together. Soon, however, the time came