Abstract
Central place theory was one of the main concepts of regional planning in West Germany after World War II. It aimed at establishing a decentralized socio-economic structure through a countrywide network of central places, i.e. municipalities that provided the hinterland with administrative, economic, social and cultural services. One of the criticisms of this approach was that the designation of central places "from above" could encroach on the principle of municipal self-government. This problem was an expression of conflict between local interests and interests of the whole society, similar to conflicts every country faces when it engages in supra-local planning. How did Germany overcome this contradiction? This paper seeks an answer to this question through a study of the drafting process of the regional development plan of 1971 in Baden-Wurttemberg. This state created a planning system under the Regional Planning Act of 1962, focusing on regional planning associations as a mainstay for planning "from the bottom up". After about ten years this system was replaced by another system with a stronger stress on initiative "from above". This paper will analyze the process of this change.
