Rolling Back the State and Physical Development Planning: The Case of Barbados |
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| Authors: | Jonathan Pugh & Robert B Potter |
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| Institution: | Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK |
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| Abstract: | The focus of this paper is the recent preparation of the Third National Physical Development Plan for Barbados. Interestingly, this blueprint for the future development of the country was prepared by Canadian consultants, under the auspices of Inter-American Development Bank funding, and thereby ostensibly represents the rolling back of the State in the context of physical development planning. The paper briefly examines the origins of town and country planning in Barbados and the wider Caribbean before critiquing the Third Plan produced in 1998. Emphasis is placed on salient issues such as operationalising sustainable development, the involvement of local stakeholders, the role of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) in the planning process, and the production of Community Plans. Throughout, it is shown that whilst the State appears to have been "rolled back", government has retained its strong-hold over the course of physical development planning, principally by "tactics" which have served to minimise the degree to which members of the public and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have been able to participate. |
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