Planning Support Systems: Retrospect and Prospect It has been nearly twenty years since the term ¿planning support systems¿ (PSS) first appeared in an article by Britton Harris (Harris 1989) and more than ten years since the concept was more broadly introduced in the academic literature (Harris and Batty 1993; Batty 1995; Klosterman 1997). As a result, the publication of a new book on PSS provides an excellent opportunity to assess past progress in the field and speculate on future developments. PSS have clearly become very popular in the academic world. This is the fourth edited book devoted to the topic following Brail and Klosterman (2001), Geertman and Stillwell (2003), and a third by Brail (2008). Papers devoted to PSS have been published in the leading planning journals and the topic has become a regular theme at academic conferences around the world; it has even spawned intellectual o- spring such as spatial planning and decision support systems (SPDSS) and public participationplanning support systems (PP-PSS). However, as Geertman and Stillwell point out in their introductory chapter, the experience with PSS in the world of professional practice has been disappointing. A substantial number of PSS have been developed but most of them are academic p- totypes or ¿one off¿ professional applications that have not been adopted elsewhere.

Prime focus on support for actual planning practice

0.- Planning Support Systems: Content, Issues and Trends.- Application and Assessment of Existing PSS.- A Use-Driven Approach to Large-Scale Urban Modelling and Planning Support.- Future Land-use in The Netherlands: Evaluation of the National Spatial Strategy.- A Planning Support System Toolkit Approach for Formulating and Evaluating Land-use Change Scenarios.- Design, Development and Implementation of Recent PSS.- A Motor Vehicle Safety Planning Support System: The Houston Experience.- Elbe DSS: A Planning Support System for Strategic River Basin Planning.- The Emission Inventory Water: A Planning Support System for Reducing Pollution Emissions in the Surface Waters of Flanders.- An Integrated Discussion Support System for New Dutch Flood Risk Management Strategies.- A Spatial Planning Support System for Managing Bangalore's Urban Sprawl.- GRAS: A Spatial Decision Support System for Green Space Planning.- New Methods for Planning Support.- Agent-Based Modelling: A Dynamic Scenario Planning Approach to Tourism PSS.- Google Maps Mashups for Local Public Health Service Planning.- ArcGIS Processing Models for Regional Environmental Planning in Bavaria.- Geo-Information Technologies in Support of Environmental and Landscape Planning.- Participation and Collaboration in PSS.- Enhancing Comprehensive Planning with Public Engagement and Planning Support Integration.- Integrating Analytical and Participatory Techniques for Planning the Sustainable Use of Land Resources and Landscapes.- New Ways of Supporting Decision Making: Linking Qualitative Storylines with Quantitative Modelling.- Land Management with the SMURF Planning Support System.- SoftGIS as a Bridge-Builder in Collaborative Urban Planning.- The Mainport Planning Suite: Planning Support Software for Studio-Based Planning.- Developing Computer-Based Participatory Approaches to Mapping Landscape Values for Landscape and Resource Management.