Decision Techniques for Town Development

Town development is a complex process which has wide physical, social and economic consequences. Its impact varies as between private and public developers and the community at large, and it is a potent source of conflict. Techniques are needed to evaluate the consequences of decisions in this field from the various points of view. There is a need both for evaluating alternative solutions to the same problem and for evaluating alternative ways of investing the same resources. Decisions about town development involve the trinity of appearance, amenity and costs. It is easier to reach rational decisions when the consequences of alternative choices have been quantified than when they consist of a large number of factors relating to separate attributes, some of which are qualitative. It is necessary to understand the conflicts of interest, to evaluate the social and economic benefits and to provide indicators which measure the balances of advantage between alternative policies.Town development is a long-term and enduring process. Both its costs and benefits are spread over long periods of time and evaluation of its consequences can only be based on predictions. Many of the costs and benefits are indirect and frequently suitable cost data are not available; special cost studies are often necessary to enable the consequences to be evaluated. Many of the benefits are, of course, a matter of opinion, but some benefits can be evaluated by experienced observers, although even then there are still problems of weighting; in some other cases the benefits can be quantified by using indirect measures. Because costs and benefits are spread over time, values must be discounted, the possible effects on the decision of the rate chosen must be studied.Broadly, there are two methods of summarizing the results of the analysis, “costs in use” based on balance sheets for comparing alternative means to the same end and “cost-benefit ratio” for investment type problems. The latter technique is related in some forms to business investment choice techniques. These techniques have a value in many fields in addition to their use in town development.