"The Network Society looks the challenges that the new paradigm of the Network Society creates Urban and Regional Planning. Chapters grouped into five themes discuss theoretical and practical perspectives on the contemporary organization of social, economic, cultural, political and physical spaces.
The first section looks at models of the Network Society. The second looks at the impact of physical networks such as transport. The third discusses challenges for Planners raised by society's increased reliance on new technology. The fourth examines local networks including community networks and the possibilities of setting up local networks for disaster recovery. The final part compares spatial and policy networks and looks at the institutions involved.
This book is essential reading for graduate level courses in urban studies, city and regional planning, and urban design. With its clear structure - unitary sections but a diversity of perspectives - the book can be used easily in courses such as Planning Theory, Urban Infrastructure and Public Policy.

Louis Albrechts is professor of planning in the Department of Architecture, Urban and Regional Planning, University of Leuven, Belgium. Seymour Mandelbaum is professor of City and Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania, USA

Introduction: A New Context for Planning? Part 1: The Network Society: A New Paradigm? 1.1 Communicative Action and the Network Society 1.2 Planning and the Network City 1.3 Escaping the Prison of "the Present Place" 1.4 The Discourse Network Part 2: Organization of Space and Time 2.1 Impact of Physical Networks 2.2 Organization of Space and Time: Challenges for Planning and Planners Part 3: Policy Networks and Governance 3.1 Local Networks and Capital Building 3.2 Governance Capacity, Policy Networks, and Territorial Specificities