The use of an accounting matrix in integrating economics into town and regional planning

Abstract

The decisions of town and regional plan­ners have economic consequences not only in their direct costs but in the ways local economies function thereafter. How­ever, the lack of data and the fact that in South Africa the location and develop­ ment of towns were governed by over­riding factors such as the discovery of minerals and government policy on phy­sical decentralisation, meant that many physical planners in South Africa did not require a strong economic back­ground for their work. Under present conditions these planners find that their training and experience are inadequate. In order to address these problems in a practical, management-based manner, this paper suggests the use of an approach whereby a local economy is de­scribed in terms of an accounting matrix. This is useful in making the most of limited data and in describing the essential features of a local economy suc­cinctly in terms understandable by non­economists. The approach is illustrated by a description of a relatively simple settlement economy. Its use in deciding on an appropriate programme of physical planning is discussed.