Planning and competition among territories

The territory, as organization of activities and spaces with varying density and velocity, is subject to innovative phenomena interesting social, physical and economical interests. Among the phenomena, the more clear are: the urban dissemination in the territory; the new work and income creation forms; the extended application of by-pass instruments used against the administrative and bureaucratic delays; the extension of the international competition to the territorial level; the use of performance and qualitative methodologies to the definition of the territorial organization; the new role of the environment. The paper wants to focus its attention on the processes of territorial competition. A good plan or a good administrative organization is not an enough condition for placing a territory in a competitive process, if the competitive factors are not present. The national and international competition become necessary the inclusion of new elements in the planning process; close to the planning of traditional sectors as environment, infrastructures, dwelling and production is to consider the management of the impact of the realizations oriented to the growing of the territorial efficiency. It is clear that for answering to these appeals the traditional planning tools must, on the one hand, to qualify the foresights and, on the other hand, to systematize, to simplify and to speed up procedures, sectorial plans and projects. The competition process, infact, involves an incessant presence of the territorial system in the virtual and real places where are decided strategical locations and investments. For this aim is necessary a plan based: 1) on an extreme clearness and a strong sharing of the targets; 2) on a remarkable quickness in the decisional and managerial processes; 3) on the foreshadowing of clear implementation workings. In this way will be possible to obtain a sharp impact on the administrative body and on the society.