From the editor

Abstract

The one certainty about the future is that it is uncertain, and for this reason man has been planning, which is mostly aimed at decreasing uncertainty and guiding future development. Looking into the future Van Riessen (1973: 19) compares with a rifle shot, which at one yard distance will hardly miss, while at five hundred yards it will be off the target even if it is only out by a small degree. The failure of modern planning has been well documented. Looking back all planners would agree that with the present knowledge there are a lot of plans that could have been planned in a better way. The realization that man is incapable of solving all problems in this world is part of planning. One can do no more than one’s best in a sinful world – perfection is beyond reach. However, once a wrong decision has been taken, it is very difficult to rescind it back. In some cases it would have been better not to plan or not to develop at all. Hans Blumenfeld (1979) said that “this generation should leave room in time and space for future generations to do their own planning”.