Social Networks, Collaborative Institutions, and Learning for Sustainable Regional Planning

Abstract

"Decision-making for sustainability in regional transportation and land use planning is often confounded by the complex and ideologically divisive nature of planning issues. Some agents, however, tend to be much more successful than others in learning to deal with these challenges. This study draws on network-theoretic perspectives to explain learning as a function of information-exchange relationships amongst multiple policy actors. Data on learning and networks are collected from policy elites involved in three regional planning processes in California. This study underscores the importance of non-hierarchical information exchange relationships in promoting learning within complex issue domains, although the results also suggest that persistent ideological conflict is an important barrier to learning."