Abstract
This paper addresses the need for extending the research perspective of infrastructure planning, and claims that “risk analysis” should be incorporated into the system perspective of planning science. Qualifications of “risk analysis” for infrastructure planning are discussed, and three key concepts, “quality of information, ” “quality of planning” and “quality of life” are suggested. By use of the concepts. six papers which constitute this special issue are systematically classified and their values, uniqueness, and limits are examined. The paper concludes by referring to future prospects of risk analysis and the possibilitiy and necessity of applying this approach for challenging a planning paradigm shift are discussed.
