Planning Models: Scoping the Scene

Planning is a massive field, and the types and variations of models used are enormous. This chapter (and the related collection), therefore, makes no pretence to cover all the various forms of models that are used across the entire gambit of planning applications. It focuses very much on the types of mathematical models that have been developed by social scientists in their efforts to explain, in particular, spatial location patterns. We feel that it is preferable to systematically treat an area of modelling in a particular context rather than pursue a shot-gun approach embracing a a number of planning applications which would mean the pellets spreading across a large area without any real penetration at any point.