- Planning Tools in the Flemish Region. A socio-political Perspective    69 kb by    Van den Broeck, Pieter | pieter.vandenbroeck@asro.kuleuven.be    Short Outline Starting from a socio-political view on planning tools, the paper describes different sets of tools used in Flemish strategic projects, since 1945. A set of tools ‘for socio-spatial innovation’ is described in more detail. Abstract In order to give a perspective on planning tools that are used in strategic projects, the paper explores different sets of instruments that can be identified in Flemish strategic projects. Starting point is a socio-political view on planning tools that is opposed to an instrumental (means-ends) perspective. According to this view, planning tools co-evolve and interrelate with their socio-economic, political and ideological context. As a consequence, planning tools are in a complex way related to the stake-holders that created them and use them. Applied to the Flemish context, it appears that in contemporary strategic projects in the Flemish region (Belgium), multiple visions and practices concerning (spatial) planning, design and development occur and interact. Each of these perspectives is characterised by different planning and implementation tools. In the paper we identify and describe: project management tools, sectoral tools, formal planning tools, tools for community development and emancipation, strategic planning tools. More recently another more or less coherent set of instruments can be identified as ‘tools for integrated area development and social and spatial innovation’. Those are apparent in experimental strategic projects in the Flemish region. In the paper we try to summarize a number of their common characteristics and to draw conclusions for the future. We assume that the instruments have to be multi-dimensional and that different types of instruments should be integrated and interlinked: strategic planning tools in accordance to the need for action within a governance context, project management tools aiming at efficient and effective implementation and emancipatory tools oriented at the development of local potentialities and the reconstruction and strengthening of social networks. New instruments for the detection of innovation potentialities, value-capturing and network transformation should be further developed in order to facilitate a broader local social and spatial transformation that is characteristic of sustainable strategic projects. Keywords planning tools, socio-spatial innovation Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2007: Urban Trialogues   Click to open the full paper as pdf document   Click to send an email to the author(s) of this paper