Simulation, scenario and visioning, government and governance, and scale

Abstract

The Future of Cities and Regions: Simulation, Scenario and Visioning, Governance and Scales is committed to presenting and discussing international best practices in planning and design according to four leading issues in urban and regional development: (1) Simulation, (2) Scenario and Visioning, (3) Government and Governance, and (4) Scale. The case-oriented discussion is a peculiarity of the book, which emerges from the title itself, The Future of Cities and Regions. The aim is to critically explain how urban planning, policy and design issues are faced by each simulation case and their inherent similarities and differences. The book reviews computer models and media, socio-political experiments and professional practices which help in communicating the future effects of different design, policy and planning strategies and schemes with a wide range of aims: from information, through consultation, towards active participation. Our intent is that the four leading issues both advance the understanding of the cases across the chapters, and advance discussion of the experiences theoretically. These issues could offer the reader a framework within which to consider the specific cases, and for interrelation of the narration of the practices from a methodological perspective, in an attempt to provide answers to the four leading issues.