Regional Planning and Development Theories

The implementation of non-equilibrium development through non-balance policy among different regions is one of the most significant characteristics of China mode. The regional development mode supported by the regional plans and policies in China is stepping into regional coordination development after the stages of the initial development of the eastern area, development of the west, revitalization in the northeast, and rise of central region. Under the government-oriented market economy system, the orientation effect that local governments pursue the administrative achievements is the important interior motive for regional development. However, the performance appraisal mainly based on GDP will easily lead to the vicious competition together with similar structure among regions, the ignorance of interregional cooperation, and the friendly interaction with external environments. Meanwhile, the present regional development evaluation methods, which emphasize interior all-side elements and their quantity matching through the index setting in terms of dimensionality and weight, face the serious conflict against the real fact of regional division based on each advantage supported by resource endowment and regional cooperation based on exchange, inter-regional arrangement and hierarchical governments. Thus, it is quite necessary to construct a more reasonable method of regional coordination development evaluation. In this paper, according to system theory and coordination theory, a two-level and five-dimension analysis framework of regional coordination development is proposed, and a evaluation model for appraising the status of coordination development of both national level and regional level from the corresponding dimension is established.

Hadjimichalis C. and Hudson R. Contemporary crisis across Europe and the crisis of regional development theories, Regional Studies. This paper explores the prima facie puzzling issue of why so much contemporary theory in economic geography and regional planning – specifically New Economic Geography (NEG) and New Regionalism (NR) – has so little to say about the causes of the current post-2007 crisis and its geography globally and in Europe. It is argued here that this reflects its obsession with the regional ‘success stories’ of the 1970s and 1980s, its failure to appreciate the onset of crisis and the reasons for it in these regions in the 1990s, and its failure to appreciate the nature of capitalism as a crisis prone social system of combined and uneven development. Thus, the current economic crisis pushed dominant regional development theories into a homologous deep theoretical crisis. It is concluded that the time is ripe for a paradigm shift in theory and that this should involve a reconsideration of earlier theoretical approaches that fell out of fashion for a variety of intellectual and political reasons and of current radical social movements.

The recent upsurge of interest in regional development issues in the Czech Republic is hindered by a lack of understanding of the recent progress in regional development theories. This article provides a comparative analysis of the main theories. Several basic parameters are identified in each theory by means of which the regional development theories are classified into several groups and briefly discussed.

B ENNER C. (2003) Labour flexibility and regional development: the role of labour market intermediaries, Reg. Studies 37 , 621-633. As contemporary labour markets have become more complex, volatile and unpredictable, labour market intermediaries (LMIs) have played an increasingly prominent role in shaping labour flexibility and regional development. Existing theories of regional development, however, do not adequately account for this prominent role. Using Silicon Valley as a case study, this paper contributes to developing a theory of intermediaries and regional development by highlighting the role LMIs play in three important labour market functions - reducing transactions costs, building networks and managing risk. In doing this, intermediaries play a critical role in shaping the speed and character of labour market adjustment, thus contributing directly to regional development, with significant implications for regional development policy. B ENNER C. (2003) La flexibilité du travail et l'amé nagement du territoire: le rôle des intermédiaires dans le marché du travail, Reg. Studies 37 , 621-633. Au fur et à mesure que les marchés du travail sont devenus plus complexes, plus précaires et plus imprévisibles, les intermédiaires dans le marché du travail (IMT) ont joué un rôle de plus en plus important dans la dé termination de la flexibilité du travail et de l'aménagement du territoire. Toujours est-il que les théories actuelles de l'amé nagement du territoire ne tient pas compte convenablement de ce rôle important. A partir d'une étude de cas, à savoir la Silicon Valley, cet article cherche à contribuer à la construction d'une thé orie des intermédiaires et de l'aménagement du territoire tout en soulignant le rôle des IMT dans trois fonctions importantes sur le marché du travail - la réduction des frais de transaction, la construction de réseaux et la gestion du risque. De cette manière, les intermédiaires jouent un rôle primordial dans la détermination de la vitesse et de la nature de l'ajustement du marché du travail, ainsi contribuant directement à l'aménagement du territoire, d'où d'importantes conséquences pour la politique d'aménagement du territoire. B ENNER C. (2003) Flexibilität der Arbeiterschaft und regionale Entwicklung: Die Rolle der Arbeitsmarktvermittler, Reg. Studies 37 , 621-633. Da die heutigen Arbeitsmärkte komplexer, unbeständiger und unvorsehbarer geworden sind, haben Arbeitsmarktvermittler (Labour Market Intermediaries=LMIs) eine zunehmend wichtige Rolle bei der Gestaltung der Flexibilität der Arbeiterschaft und der regionalen Entwicklung gespielt. Vorhandene Theorien der Regionalentwicklung geben jedoch nur unzulängliche Auskunft über die Bedeutung ihrer Rolle. Mit Hilfe einer Fachstudie von Silicon Valley trägt dieser Aufsatz zur Entwicklung einer Theorie der Vermittler und regionaler Entwicklung bei, indem er die Rolle hervorhebt, die LMIs in drei bedeutenden Arbeitsmarktfunktionen spielen: der Reduzierung der Abwicklungskosten, der Konstruktion von Netzwerken und der Absicherung von Risiken. In dieser Kapazität spielen die Vermittler eine kritische Rolle, indem sie Tempo und Charakter der Arbeitsmarktanpassung gestalten, und so direkt zur Regionalentwicklung beitragen; dies hat signifikante Implikationen für die regionale Entwicklungspolitik.

Due to the unique characteristics of the innovation process, the government plays an important role in its stimulation. However, the adaptation of national innovative policies to regional and local conditions is the responsibility of regional and local authorities. Sustainable development of the region will be achieved only if its stakeholders such as business, R & D units and the relevant authorities are involved. The primary task of the public authority is to coordinate activities and to create a favorable climate for economic development in the region. Both primary and secondary regional development theories define multiple sources of economic growth. The main objective of this article is to show the role of local government in the development of regional innovation policy in accordance with the secondary theories of regional development. Secondary theories are based on the following primary theories: the economic base theory of W. Sombart, the growth poles theory of F. Perroux, the A. Marshall’s industrial districts theory, the theory of industrial clusters of M.E. Porter and the J.Coleman’s theory of social capital. Due to the limitations of this article, the text describes only some secondary theories of regional development. These theories come from the economic base theory of W. Sombart and the industrial districts theory of A. Marshall.

Regional unbalanced development refers to a common phenomenon in the process of regional development. China is currently in the process of transitioning from regional unbalanced development to balanced development. Therefore, it is of theoretical and practical significance to sort out the theory of regional unbalanced development and China's practical experience. Representative regional historians and economists have explained the process of regional unbalanced development from the perspectives of historical reality and economic theory, and have developed relevant theories. Pero believed that the significant differences in the foundations of economic development among different regions led to the emergence of regional imbalances. Hirsch emphasized the necessity of imbalanced development in the early stages of economic development, while Myrdal further explained the reasons and mechanisms of uneven growth, as well as how it affects regional economic development. The main manifestations of unbalanced regional development in China currently include: uneven development in the four major regions, uneven development within regions, and uneven development between urban and rural areas. In response to the problem of unbalanced development in China, China has taken measures such as organizing and implementing the poverty alleviation campaign, deepening the implementation of regional coordinated development strategies, and promoting new urbanization centered on people to narrow the regional development gap.

Chapter 1: Governance and Planning of Mega-City Regions: Diverse Processes and Reconstituted State Spaces Jiang Xu and Anthony G.O. Yeh Part I: Multi-Level Governance and Planning in Europe Chapter 2: The Polycentric Metropolis: a Western European Perspective on Mega-City Regions Sir Peter Hall Chapter 3: Innovations in Governance and Planning: Randstad Cooperation Willem Salet Chapter 4: Strategic Planning and Regional Governance in Europe: Recent Trends and Policy Responses Louis Albrechts Part II: Multi-Polity Governance and Planning in Federacy Chapter 5: Novel Spatial Formats: Megaregions and Global Cities Saskia Sassen Chapter 6: America 2050: Towards a Twenty-first Century National Infrastructure Investment Plan for the United States Robert D. Yaro Chapter 7: Mega-City Regional Cooperation in the United States and Western Europe: A Comparative Perspective Linda McCarthy Chapter 8: Regions of Cities: Metropolitan Governance and Planning in Australia John Abbott Chapter 9: The Upper Spencer Gulf Common Purpose Group: A Model of Intra - Regional Cooperation for Economic Development Jim Harvey and Brian Cheers Part III: State-Led Governance and Planning under Transition Chapter 10: Coordinating the Fragmented Mega-City Regions in China: State Reconstruction and Regional Strategic Planning Jiang Xu and Anthony G.O. Yeh Chapter 11: Spatial Planning for Urban Agglomeration in the Yangtze River Delta Chaolin Gu, Taofang Yu, Xiaoming Zhang, Chun Wang, Min Zhang, Cheng Zhang and Lu Chen John Abbott is a practicing metropolitan planner in South East Queensland, Australia. He was previously the Project Coordinator of the SEQ 2001 and SEQ 2021 regional planning projects. He teaches planning theory and metropolitan planning at the University of Queensland. He has analyzed metropolitan planning processes in South East Queensland, Greater Vancouver, and New York using concepts of planning as managing uncertainty. Louis Albrechts is Professor of Department of Architecture, Urbanism and Planning at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. His research interests include strategic spatial planning, sustainable development, and regional design, and he has published widely on these issues. He is the founder and co-editor of European Planning Studies, a corresponding member of the German Academy for Research and Planning, and a member of the Advisory Board of the global Research Network on Human Settlements. Brain Cheers is Research Professor Emeritus of Community Development and former Director of the Center for Rural and Regional Development at the Whyalla Campus of the University of South Australia. He is also Founding Director of the Northern Australia Research Institute and the Center for Social and Welfare Research at James Cook University. He has published four books, and many monographs and papers on rural and regional issues. Lu Chen is PhD candidate in Economic Geography at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Chaolin Gu is Professor, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University. He has published sixteen books and over 260 articles on urban and regional planning, regional economics, and urban geography in China. He is the principal investigator of a number of projects on China's urban and regional development and planning. He is Vice President of the Chinese Geographical Association, and serves on editorial boards of many journals and academic councils. Sir Peter Hall is Bartlett Professor of Planning and Regeneration at the Bartlett School of Architecture and Planning, University College London. He has received the Founder's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society for distinction in research, and is an honorary member of the Royal Town Planning Institute, which awarded him its Gold Medal in 2003. He holds fourteen honorary doctorates from universities in the UK, Sweden, and Canada. He received the 2005 Balzan Prize for work on the Social and Cultural History of Cities since the Beginning of the 16th Century. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and the European Academy and President of the Town and Country Planning Association. He was knighted in 1998 and in 2003 was named by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as a Pioneer in the Life of the Nation at a reception in Buckingham Palace. Jim Harvey is Adjunct Professor of the Center for Rural Health and Community Development at the University of South Australia. His most recent publications have been on intra-regional cooperation in urban and regional development. He is currently the Australian Manager of an Australian Aid (AusAid) community development project in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua and New Guinea. Linda McCarthy is Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and is also a certified planner. Her research focuses on urban and regional economic development and planning in the United States, Western Europe, and China. Her publications comprise books, book chapters, reports, and articles in peer reviewed journals such as Environment and Planning A, The Professional Geographer, Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Journal of Planning Education and Research, and Land Use Policy. Willem Salet is Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Amsterdam. He is also the President of the Association of European Schools of Planning. His research specializes in spatial planning and metropolitan governance, urban networks, and decision making in strategic urban projects. He coordinated various research projects on behalf of the European Union, national ministries, the National Scientific Foundation, and other stakeholders in the field of urban studies, and has published widely on regional planning and governance. Saskia Sassen is Robert S.Lynd Professor of Sociology of Department of Sociology and Member of the Committee on Global Thought, at Columbia University. Her most recent books are Territory, Authority, Rights: From Medieval to Global Assemblages (Princeton University Press 2006) and A Sociology of Globalization (W.W.Norton 2007). Her books have been translated into sixteen languages. Her comments have appeared in Guardian, New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Newsweek International, and Financial Times, among others. She serves on several editorial boards and is an advisor to several international bodies. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the National Academy of Sciences Panel on Cities, and chaired the Information Technology and International Cooperation Committee of the Social Science Research Council (USA). Chun Wang is an urban planner in the Master Planning Department at Beijing Tsinghua Urban Planning and Design Institute. Jiang Xu is Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and Resource Management, the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She is a specialist in urban and regional issues, and is currently leading research projects in intercity competition and cooperation, as well as urban and regional governance in China. Dr. Xu has published widely on urban and regional development in leading international journals and is co-author with F. Wu and Anthony G.O. Yeh of Urban Development in Post Reform China: State, Market and Space (Routledge 2007). She was the recipient of the 2008 Research Output Prize of the University of Hong Kong. Robert Yaro is President of Regional Plan Association, America's oldest independent metropolitan policy, research, and advocacy group. He is also Professor of Practice in City and Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania. He has taught at Harvard University and the University of Massachusetts. He co-chairs the Empire State Transportation Alliance and the Friends of Moynihan Station, and is Vice President of the Forum for Urban Design. He serves on Mayor Bloomberg's Sustainability Advisory Board, which helped prepare PlaNYC 2030, New York City's new long-range sustainability plan. Anthony Yeh is Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is also Chair Professor and Head, Department of Urban Planning and Design, and Director, Center of Urban Studies and Urban Planning, University of Hong Kong. His main areas of specialization are in urban development and planning in Hong Kong and China, and the application ofaGIS in urban and regional planning. At present, he is Secretary-General of the Asian Planning Schools Association and Asia GIS Association. He is on the editorial boards of key international and Chinese journals, and has published over thirty books and monographs, and over 180 academic journal papers and book chapters. He received the 2008 UN-HABITAT Lecture Award for his outstanding and sustained contribution to research, thinking, and practice in the human settlements field. Taofang Yu is Lecturer, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University. He has published four books and about fifty articles on urban competition and the mega city-region. Cheng Zhang, is a certified urban planner, and is performing civil service at the Nanjing Urban Planning Bureau. He has published five articles on the mega city-region and the mega-project. Min Zhang is Associate Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Nanjing University. She has published about 30 articles on urbanization, the megalopolis, and the global city-region. Xiaoming Zhang is PhD candidate, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University. He has published about six articles on the mega city-region and spatial regionalization.

The current reforming of local self-government, territorial organization of authorities and administrative-territorial division in Ukraine require new approaches to managing regional development. Therefore, the purpose of the article is to substantiate the theoretical aspects of the concept of balanced regional development. In the study, the author applies systematic approach, theoretical generalization, method of scientific abstraction, logical-semantic method and graphical method. The results of the study show that the concept of balanced regional development should be considered through the prism of seven concepts and theories. Thus, regional development theories (individual theories of spatial organization, utilization of the region's potential and innovation and knowledge, as well as theories of social change) help to perceive the region as a coherent system with the potential for development. The concept of sustainable development emphasizes the importance of meeting the needs of today without sacrificing the needs of future generations. The concept of a smart region combines smart governance, economy, mobility, environment, people and lifestyle. The concept of new pragmatism is reminiscent of taking into account, in governing a region, the system of values "profitably, lawfully, non-immorally". In accordance with the concept of reconstructive development, it is advisable to combine the introverted, inclusive and innovative development of the region. Stakeholder theory points to the need to identify the main stakeholders and establish communication between them. At the same time, behavioral theory emphasizes the strengthening of the role of the human factor in regional development, which actualizes the study of the influence of psychological factors. As a result, the study identified balanced regional development as a long-term process of regional reconstruction with due regard to the existing potential, harmonizing stakeholder interests and establishing communication, optimal balance of environmental, social and economic goals, social justice, cohesion and responsibility. Understanding the nature and features of balanced regional development is theoretically and practically important as it is capable of enhancing the effectiveness of regional governance.

Objective: This study aims to analyze the contribution of Regional Development Banks (BPDs) to Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) and poverty reduction in Indonesia during the 2014–2023 period, with a focus on the role of third-party funds (DPK) and loan disbursement as financial intermediation mechanisms. The study is framed within the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities). Theoretical Framework: Grounded in the theory of financial intermediation and regional economic development, this study employs both supply-leading and demand-following approaches. Concepts of financial assets and macroeconomic indicators are used to explain the relationships among financial intermediation, economic performance, and poverty outcomes. Method: Using a quantitative approach, panel data from 34 provinces were analyzed through regression to assess the influence of DPK, total assets, and total loan on GRDP and poverty levels. Data were sourced from the Indonesia Financial Services Authority (OJK), Statistics Indonesia (BPS), and BPDs financial reports (2014–2023). Results and Discussion: The findings indicate that DPK positively influences loan distribution, while total assets show no significant effect. BPD loans have a positive impact on regional economic growth and contribute to poverty reduction. Economic growth also plyas a significant role in decreasing poverty, hihglighting the strategic role of BPDs in promoting inclusive and sustainable regional development in line with SDG targets. Research Implications: This study supports the institutional strengthening and digital transformation of BPDs to enhance financial efficiency, inclusion, and their contribution to sustainable development. The results offer policy insights for aligning regional banking practices with Indonesia’s national development agenda and the global SDGs framework. Originality/Value: This research presents comprehensive empirical evidence from all Indonesian provinces, revealing the causal relationships between BPD performance, economic growth, and poverty alleviation. By situating these findings within the SDGs context, the study contributes to the discourse on the role of subnational financial institutions in sustainable regional development.

The subject of this thesis was chosen from both a professional and an academic interest in the economic development of Oregon. Prompted by proposals made to the Oregon Legislature to initiate various forms of industrial subsidy programs to disperse economic growth and population away from congested areas, this research effort seeks to provide an evaluative analysis of the effectiveness of subsidy techniques in influencing industrial location and stimulating a sustained growth process in less developed areas. Research was undertaken in two primary subjects: 1) theory of regional economic development and the effects of subsidies on the growth process; and 2) empirical evidence of the effectiveness of industrial subsidy programs on regional development in other areas. Information was obtained from the following resources: The author’s library of reference literature on economic development and the bibliographies contained therein; Professional organizations, particularly the library of the American Industrial Development Council, as well as requests for literature from various members of those organizations; University library resources, including: Bureaus of Business Research, Bibliography, 1968-1970; Public Affairs Information Service, 1965-Jan. 3, 1973; Business Periodicals Index, 1965-1972; Journal of Economic Articles, 1967-Dec., 1972; Index to Economic Literature, 1966-1970; U.S. Library of Congress, National Union Catalog, 1960-1972; Council of Planning Librarians, Bibliographies; Colorado University, Public Catalog of Norlin Library holdings; Colorado Technical Reference Center. Using information obtained from these and other sources, a method was obtained for defining and measuring the economic and social welfare objectives of a regional development program in Oregon. Geographical patterns of economic health indicators were mapped for the state This is followed by an analysis of various types of subsidies and their effects on resource allocation and gross output. It was found that wage subsidies offer optimum benefits for labor-surplus areas with less distortion of capital efficiency than do capital or price subsidies. Justification for subsidies was found to be greatest using social benefits as criteria rather than maximization of economic output. The influence of industrial subsidies on location decisions is then examined. Following an analysis of effects of subsidies on the cost structure and profit potential for the firm, financial and tax incentives are separately reviewed in case histories of subsidy programs. It was found that capital investment subsidies have had considerably more location influence than tax subsidies. In any case, however, subsidies were determined to be marginal, rather than decisive, locational factors with more basic economic criteria, such as labor availability

The article examines the problem of defining the subject area of regional economics, emphasizing the difficulties and challenges associated with a variety of theoretical approaches, the multilevel nature of economic processes and a variety of methodological approaches. The main areas of research in the regional economy, such as spatial economics, economic geography, theory of regional development and urban economics, are analyzed. Special attention is paid to inter-level interactions and methodological tools used to analyze regional economic processes. It is concluded that an interdisciplinary approach is necessary for a full understanding and development of the regional economy.

The concept of polycentrism has acquired a wide field of research in academia and on the political agenda at the national level. In empirical research, the discourse of scientists analyses polycentrism from the prism of both a morphological concept, a functional element, and a normative aspect with a multifaceted analytical tool of spatial planning and an element of the regulatory agenda. The aim of the study is to study the concept of polycentrism and its transformation into theoretical and conceptual applications using monographic and system analysis and to reflect the formal definitions of polycentrism and the transformation of derivatives. In the course of the study, the author concludes that the spatial development dimension of the concept of polycentrism and the extent of polycentrism in the context of regional development can be applied with different contexts, the nature of which is determined either by the planning document, strategic guidelines, or by scientific-practical research. For the analysis of the theories of regional economic development, the monographic and systemic method of analysis was used. The monographic or descriptive method made it possible to prepare an overview of the theories of economic development of the regions, gathering information about them, books, monographs, scientific articles, and international publications on the theory of economic development of regions and the results of empirical research, while the method of systemic analysis was used to structure information.

No Brasil, a partir da década de 1990, e mais intensamente nos anos 2000, a relativa estabilidade macroeconômica, aliada à emergência do paradigma do desenvolvimento endógeno (relacionado à valorização do local) impulsionaram o ressurgimento da temática

Chapter 3 observes the socialist and sociological theories of adolescence, urbanity, and regional development which underwrote James T. Farrell’s Studs Lonigan trilogy and Richard Wright’s Native Son, two portraits of “extreme youth” set in Chicago’s South Side. Distinguishing themselves from the earlier Midwestern naturalists, rural or urban, Farrell and Wright portrayed a Midwest utterly voided of the region’s organic environmental features. They instead mapped the inorganic contours of the urban spaces that enclose the young protagonist’s development, to accentuate the conscious and unconscious psychological effects of that mode of living upon developing subjects. The experimental method they enacted was this: a “delinquent” adolescent—whose emulation of racist stereotypes stalls their maturation—is situated within the confines of Chicago’s South Side neighborhoods. These locations formed a microcosm of the ethnic and class antagonisms that accompanied mass migration, including systemic issues relating to cultural integration, pluralism, and 100% Americanism. These neighborhoods formed strategic battlegrounds upon which these effects of national policies and regional development were rehearsed. The story of the region’s uneven development as told by Farrell and Wright thus redefined the Bildungsroman’s teleology of development that was configured by the soul-nation allegory.

This chapter is written by a freelance journalist (LT) and academic (IS) currently working in Ukraine. They work with a community of Ukrainian and international activists to support a network of leaders to provide effective help, in the immediate response and rebuilding of Ukraine. The current political situation is beyond the understanding of traditional theoretical imperatives and classical theories of general and regional development. An analysis of modern political science and sociological literature demonstrates the contradictory approaches to assessing real political and economic events. No theory is the ultimate truth, its conclusions can be questioned and corrected by social practice.