Ben Clifford is Lecturer in Spatial Planning and Government at the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London. His research focuses on the British planning system, policy, governance and questions of Government.Mark Tewdwr-Jones is Professor of Town Planning at the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape at Newcastle University. He is an expert in planning, the politics of the city, and land use.

"Provides an important contribution to understanding planning as a practice...valuable reading for both practitioners and researchers of planning and policy implementation" Lisa Olsson, Dept Urban Studies, Malmo University "There is no other book that so effectively illuminates the politics of contemporary planning - from the ideological drift of neoliberalism to the hard decisions on planning's front line. It should be on the reading lists of every university course in planning, housing, property development and urban studies." Dr Geraint Ellis, Queen's University Belfast "In studies of the changing nature of planning, opinions are more common than empirical analyses. This is where Clifford and Tewdwr-Jones excel. In their rich and detailed exploration of the modernisation of planning they have produced an impressive account that adds to our understanding of change from the perspective of frontline planners." Professor Phil Allmendinger, University of Cambridge

• Introduction: planning at the coalface at a time of constant change;Conceptualising governance and planning reform;The planner within a professional and institutional context;Process: implementing spatial planning;Management: the efficiency agenda, audits and targets;Participation: planners and their ‘customers’;Culture: the planning ‘ethos’;Conclusions: the importance of planning’s frontline.

Ben Clifford is Lecturer in Spatial Planning and Government at the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London. His research focuses on the British planning system, policy, governance and questions of Government.Mark Tewdwr-Jones is Professor of Town Planning at the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape at Newcastle University. He is an expert in planning, the politics of the city, and land use.

"Provides an important contribution to understanding planning as a practice...valuable reading for both practitioners and researchers of planning and policy implementation" Lisa Olsson, Dept Urban Studies, Malmo University "There is no other book that so effectively illuminates the politics of contemporary planning - from the ideological drift of neoliberalism to the hard decisions on planning's front line. It should be on the reading lists of every university course in planning, housing, property development and urban studies." Dr Geraint Ellis, Queen's University Belfast "In studies of the changing nature of planning, opinions are more common than empirical analyses. This is where Clifford and Tewdwr-Jones excel. In their rich and detailed exploration of the modernisation of planning they have produced an impressive account that adds to our understanding of change from the perspective of frontline planners." Professor Phil Allmendinger, University of Cambridge

• Introduction: planning at the coalface at a time of constant change;Conceptualising governance and planning reform;The planner within a professional and institutional context;Process: implementing spatial planning;Management: the efficiency agenda, audits and targets;Participation: planners and their ‘customers’;Culture: the planning ‘ethos’;Conclusions: the importance of planning’s frontline.

Ben Clifford is Lecturer in Spatial Planning and Government at the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London. His research focuses on the British planning system, policy, governance and questions of Government.Mark Tewdwr-Jones is Professor of Town Planning at the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape at Newcastle University. He is an expert in planning, the politics of the city, and land use.

"Provides an important contribution to understanding planning as a practice...valuable reading for both practitioners and researchers of planning and policy implementation" Lisa Olsson, Dept Urban Studies, Malmo University "There is no other book that so effectively illuminates the politics of contemporary planning - from the ideological drift of neoliberalism to the hard decisions on planning's front line. It should be on the reading lists of every university course in planning, housing, property development and urban studies." Dr Geraint Ellis, Queen's University Belfast "In studies of the changing nature of planning, opinions are more common than empirical analyses. This is where Clifford and Tewdwr-Jones excel. In their rich and detailed exploration of the modernisation of planning they have produced an impressive account that adds to our understanding of change from the perspective of frontline planners." Professor Phil Allmendinger, University of Cambridge

• Introduction: planning at the coalface at a time of constant change;Conceptualising governance and planning reform;The planner within a professional and institutional context;Process: implementing spatial planning;Management: the efficiency agenda, audits and targets;Participation: planners and their ‘customers’;Culture: the planning ‘ethos’;Conclusions: the importance of planning’s frontline.