Posted October 29, 2007

Geography Awareness Week Presentation: "New Tools for a New Planning."

Dr. Richard Kosterman.Dr. Richard Klosterman of the University of Akron will present "New Tools for a New Planning" as part of the Department of Geography's Geography Awareness Week Activities. His presentation will be held Wednesday, November 14 at 7:30 pm in Morgan Hall 109.

This talk considers the evolution of planners' conceptions of their professional roles over the last twenty years and the role that GIS-based planning support systems (PSS) can play in new conceptions of community-based planning.  It begins by critically examining the assumptions underlying traditional images of planning as an applied science or what is sometimes referred to as "planning for the public."  It then considers new images of planning as an attempt to promote community-based consensus building or "planning with the public."  It concludes by examining new conceptions of the role that forecasting plays in contemporary planning and a PSS tool that attempts to support attempts to promote community-based "planning for the public."

Richard Klosterman has more than 25 years of experience in developing and writing about computer based tools to support planning.  He is the President and CEO of What if?, Inc., the developer of the What if?™ planning support system. He has published widely in the areas of computer applications in planning, planning theory, and planning methods, and is the author of Community Analysis and Planning Techniques (1990), co-editor of Spreadsheet Models for Urban and Regional Analysis (1994) and Planning Support Systems (2001). He holds a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Purdue University and is currently Professor Emeritus of Planning, Geography and Urban Studies at the University of Akron.

For more information regarding his visit to WIU, please contact the Geography Department at (309-298-1648)

The public is invited to attend. Admission is free.