Area management: A change of mind? A critical examination of area management in local government

Paterson, Alan J. (1980) Area management: A change of mind? A critical examination of area management in local government. MPhil(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

The dissertation is structured as follows. Chapter one discusses the development, evolution and nature of corporate planning, ending with a critique of this approach in local government organisation. Chapter two then goes on to discuss the evolution and potential of area management in local government. Essentially chapters one and two suggest that both these approaches are interlinked in terms of their development, how they are perceived and problems. Chapter three follows this by stressing the importance of officers and councillors in local government, in terms of how they perceive the above approaches. It then goes on to examine the problems that these key actors face in their work; how corporate planning has done little to solve them; and how area management can tackle some of these problems and perhaps enhance the roles of both officer and councillor. The first three chapters provide the theoretical background for the empirical nature of the second half of the dissertation. Chapter four examines three area management schemes in operation today - area organisation in Stockport, the Priority Areas Programme in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and area management in Dudley. These are examined separately indicating their nature, structure, organisation and objectives along with their relationship to the wider corporate system within the local authority. Chapter 5 continues on from this and discusses seven themes found to be important in area management, in relation to the three case studies. The role of the councillor and the importance of commitment in area management are examples of the themes discussed. Chapter 4 and 5 essentially provide the evidence to allow me to develop area management proposals for Strathclyde Region in chapter 6. On the basis of these earlier findings the suggested proposals are designed to solve many of the problems found to be in existence in the case study schemes.

• Item Type: Thesis (MPhil(R))
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Keywords: Urban planning, public administration.
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences
• Supervisor's Name: Forbes, Professor Jean
• Date of Award: 1980
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:1980-74125
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 23 Sep 2019 15:33
• Last Modified: 10 Nov 2022 11:30
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.74125
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/74125