Paterson's Curse: The attempt to revive metropolitan planning in Melbourne

Historians of urban planning have charted a shift in planning philosophies in Western countries from the 'design' approach of the 1950s, to the 'systems' approach of the 1970s, to the 'market' or 'neo-liberal' planning of the 1990s (e.g. Taylor, 1998). Critics have pointed out that all three approaches share a bias against genuine community involvement in planning. Planners, with their expert knowledge of design, of urban systems analysis, or of the inherent superiority of markets, are entitled to overrule the community, which lacks the necessary expertise (Mees, 2000).