In the delineating context of these principles it is useful for
developers and conservationists to have an understanding of the
Socio-ecological economicsreasoning given in box 4.1; and
for these principles to find expression in operational mission
statements, state-owned enterprise management plans, and the
annual plans of larger corporations. Here, also, are eight policy
markers.
1 Maintain a working relationship between territorial resource
utilization and the conservation with development purpose.
2 Accept and promote an interpenetration of the production and
welfare sectors and a variety of overlapping communities of
concern.
3 Integrate and promote networks: the transportation channels
and communication linkages.
4 Seek cross-jurisdictional solutions for cross-jurisdictional
problems.
5 Reason periphery-to-centre for non-metropolitan regions;
lending a rural and resource focus to development and con-
servation operations.
6 Work in accordance with the clustering concept which
achieves production economies from the sharing of infra-
structure and services in cognate sectors.
7 Attempt output and growth for a region’s prime enterprise
sectors at a rate that exceeds the national average; balancing
between resource supply, processing positions and markets.
8 Consistent with the previous seven markers, pursue compet-
itive reductions in regional price charges for goods and serv-
ices as efficiencies cut-in: and be aware that whereas
within-region communities often cooperate, regions mostly
compete against each other.
In summary: what is recommended is that a growth pattern social
contract is engaged which recognizes that all development and
conservation efforts are inter-connected, holding to the principle
that management methods, accountability attitudes, performance
measures, profit-sharing and careers are bound up with sustain-
able planning practice.
It is salutary to consider how seldom the eight ‘markers’ or any-
thing like the box 4.1 format are incorporated into growth pattern
policy. Regional institutions are dominantly ‘correctional’ and
‘regulatory’ in character. The emphasis remains mainly with pro-
tectionist (liability avoiding) formalisms. There is not so much a
case to be made against protection and procedural instruments,
more a case for the embodiment of balanced conservation with
Growth Pattern Management 119Regionalis applied
mostly to defined units
of administration, for
which regional
development planning
practice is of strategic
importance.Regionsin
terms of practice,
include distribution
regions, supply regions,
functional regions,
tourism regions, activity
regions, and of course
administrative regions, all
of which can stand alone
and/or overlap.
Because regions are
markedly varied, the
focus within this chapter
is ‘growth pattern
management’ as a lead-in
to Urban Growth
Management in
chapter 5.
Regionsin a generic
sense can be
contemplated as
communities of concern
about which there are
four significant
characteristics of note:
first, these ‘communities
of concern’ can, and do,
overlap;second, what
happens toward the
outer edge is usually
relatively less important;
third, administrative
delineations tend to
prevail;fourth, non-
metropolitan regions are
best contemplated
periphery-to-centre.‘Acceptability across the
spectrum of interests is
the key characteristic of
successful growth
management policies.’
Barry Cullingworth,
Planning in the USA, 1997