INFORMATION-SYSTEMS FOR URBAN AND REGIONAL-PLANNING IN THE UNITED-KINGDOM - A REVIEW

Design criteria for urban and regional information systems are outlined. An attempt is made to evaluate the nationally available statistical series in the United Kingdom in the context of those design criteria and some of the systems developed in British local government to counter the deficiencies of an inadequate national data system are reviewed. Various systems for collecting local data have been instituted by particular local authorities, although the problems of using such data are often as problematic as the lack of those data in the first place. However, the New Town of Telford (Shropshire, England) has pioneered various local data-collection methods and an integrated information system which has been designed to monitor the demographic, economic, and social development has been built. This system is described, and it is suggested that, before such systems are generally possible, the quality and availability of data as well as their relevant usage within the planning process must be addressed.