Metropolitan Planning in Britain is the first comparative analysis and assessment of metropolitan areas and their strategic planning for almost two decades. Changes in population distribution, styles of local government, business practices, and attitudes to the environment have all had an impact on cities in recent years which planners and other policy makers must take into consideration. The book focused on five themes: The evolution, form and content of metropolitan strategic planning, which now faces problems despite the growth of urban and regional regeneration programmes. The shift in the type of challenges facing metropolitan areas, due to such factors as the increasing relocation of industry and retail outlets away from city centres. Changing forms of governance of metropolitan areas. Spatial planning for metropolitan areas within the new context of a changed planning system and a changed urban condition. Metropolitan regions as part of a European and global spatial system. Based on a series of research projects and the activities of a study group supported by the Regional Studies Association, the book examines in detail nine major urban areas, their specific characters and requirements, and how metropolitan planning is adapting to fulfil those requirements. It also discuses the possible future evolution of metropolitan planning, especially in the light of new regional arrangements and devolution.