Computer Adoption and Use in California Planning Agencies: Implications for Education

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a mail survey of 501 California city and county planning directors and microcomputer managers on the number of computers local planning agencies have and the types of computers, software, and applications these agencies use or will use. Staff training and hardware and software funding are found to be common problems. Measures of effective utilization of computers are developed and associated factors that have contributed to successful implementation are explored. Based on these analyses, several changes in planning curricula are suggested. An outline for a specialization in planning information systems within the planning curriculum is presented. © 1989, Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning. All rights reserved.