While planning involves seeking ways of influencing future behavior, it is important to have at the outset an abstraction of the world upon which to base an assessment of outcomes. The papers in this collection represent some of the major works in the field of planning models, with land use planning as a core theme. The collection is divided into several parts:

Part 1 focuses on location models and embraces a series of classic survey papers as well as a number of more specific contributions covering such topics as the distribution of residential activities. This is followed in part 2 by papers concerned with spatial interaction and, in particular the gravity model. Part 3 of the collection contains papers on micro-macro models that look at ways of moving from individual to collective behavior, whilst part 4 is concerned with dynamic models. Part 5 of the volume reflects an increasing interest in the role of various networks in the formulation of plans, and finally part 6 completes the volume with a selection of policy-planning models.