Welsh Journals

Three models for the analysis of power relations in planning decision-making P. N. COOKE Lecturer, Dept. of Town Planning U. W.I.S.T., Cardiff The study of local government policy-making has traditionally been restricted to the description of the various legislative frameworks, procedures and departmental powers of local authorities on the assumption that the principal function of local government is the administration of central government policies at the local level. More recently, however, it has become apparent that local govern- ment is more appropriately characterised as a relatively autonomous decision centre capable of interpreting the fairly general guidelines posed by central government in a variety of ways contingent upon local political, economic and social conditions. Urban planning is a key vehicle for the articulation of local government policies, partic- ularly in terms of the spatial allocation of resources and access to opportunities, thus it constitutes an important source for the analysis of the politics of local policy. The study described below focuses on the politics of planning policy in Cardiff and is specifically concerned with the three inte- grated planning proposals which emerged from the Buchanan studies of the mid-1960's: Centreplan; the Hook road; and the University Precinct expansion. The main aim of the study is to explain the somewhat confusing events which surrounded the growth and demise of these plans, as a function of the power relations of the planning authority vis-a-vis other interested and affected agents and institutions in the urban system. The emphasis on power relations is desirable for two reasons: first, it forms the key concept for the analysis of all formal political behaviour; second, it is, nevertheless, a valuable concept in the analysis of the behaviour of actors normally considered as being located outside the formal political arena, such as local government officials, private firms, or ordinary members of the public. It is also important to conceptualise different levels for the analysis of the power relations of a local planning authority: three can be identified, relations with; the master institutions of the state, the local institutional organization, and specifically affected local communities. Theories of power relations can be separated into two broad types: on the one hand there are those which focus on the individual