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Focusing on rural and land use planning in developing countries, this volume explores the conventional, mainly top-down, approaches of the past, showing why they have largely failed; and describes the opportunities offered by more recent participatory approaches, examining the key role of natural resource information in planning.
1. Introduction; 2. Historical Perspective; 3. Information Needs and Methods of Resouce Assessment; 4. Land Evaluation; 5. Land Use Planning; 6. Environmental Impact Assessment; 7. Sustainable Development Strategies; 8. Participatory Planning; 9. Planning in Tanzania; 10. Planning in Sri Lanka; 11. Knowledge at All Levels; References; Index
Useful and very well constructed book. Geoderma The book has a logical structure with a fluid written style, clear links between chapters and a useful glossary that enables the reader to come to terms with the plethora of acronyms in this field. The Geographical Journal Essential reading for a wide range of audiences ... Knowledge of the Land goes where few such methodological volumes have gone before, into a world of land database development in a postcolonial and postdevelopment era ... few, if any, more thorough, accessible, and thoughtful books on the subject have been published in recent years. Environment and Planning Written in clear language, with detailed examples, and with careful attention to the daily challenges of natural resource information development, the text also takes very seriously the challenges of the antidevelopment critique and of 'participatory' science ... remarkable sophistication ... Pragmatic and extremely clear chapters ... the book represents the closest thing to 'critical pragmatism' of its kind on the market. Environment and Planning Challenging ... brings some fresh thinking into the area and would help theoreticians and practitioners to bridge the gap between the real world and emerging ideas. International Journal of Environmental Studies
