Around the introduction of Agenda 21 at Rio in 1991, some countries like the Netherlands and New Zealand were already leading the way with quite innovative approaches to environmental planning. Focusing on the New Zealand government's innovations in sustainable and environmental planning, particularly the Resource Management Act of 1991, this book highlights planning and governance under devolved and co-operative mandates. It uses multiple methods to evaluate the quality of policy statements and district plans prepared by regional and local councils respectively, as well as the various inter- and intra-organizational and institutional factors affecting them. It also analyses the quality of the plans' implementation through the consensus or permits process, and the quality of the environmental outcomes.

'Plan-making for Sustainability provides a sobering review of New Zealand's experiment in mandating comprehensive planning. The authors bring a wealth of experience and data to provide a balanced, insightful, and highly readable assessment ...The book is essential reading for those who seek to understand the challenges of implementing intergovernmental planning mandates.' Professor Peter J. May, University of Washington, USA 'Neil Ericksen and colleagues have produced an important and fascinating evidence-based analysis of the challenges faced in implementing the pioneering New Zealand Resource Management Act. Their research approach and findings are of considerable relevance, internationally, for all those concerned with planning for sustainability.' Professor John Glasson, Oxford Brookes University, UK

Neil J. Ericksen is a Professor at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. Philip R. Berke is a Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina, USA. Dr Janet L. Crawford works for Planning Consultants Ltd (Auckland), New Zealand, and Jennifer E. Dixon is a Professor in the Department of Planning, University of Auckland, New Zealand.