Book excerpt: Changes in the philosophy of planning and the political influences behind it have led to an increasingly ambivalent approach to retail and commercial matters and a lack of clear goals and objectives as to what both central government and the local authorities should be concerned with. At the same time, changes within the distribution industry have brought new pressures to bear upon the environment which the conventional planning process seems ill-equipped to accommodate. This book, by an established leading authority, takes stock of the new problems to be confronted and provides the rudiments of an alternative planning approach to dealing with them. It begins by examining the growth of office blocks and shopping centres, and goes on to analyse and criticise the existing planning processes, suggesting alternative procedures. It looks at the dual needs of development on the one hand and renovation and redevelopment on the other and discusses how these should be dealt with in the future. More specific problems are also examined: the impact created by new shopping schemes, the decline of small shops and related activities, the conflict over transport demands and provisions and the special physical needs of particular urban and rural environments. Throughout, the argument is supported by detailed examples of particular developments. Originally published 1984.