Comparative Urban Planning Law

To facilitate comprehension of comparative planning law, which is the intersection of law, planning, and comparative law, this chapter examines a number of fundamental methodological and theoretical issues. It examines the meaning of legal analysis at an abstract level, positive law level, and socio-legal approaches to differentiate comparative planning law from comparative planning studies. Furthermore, this chapter addresses the question of which sources and literatures ought to be employed in comparative planning law research, taking into account the methodological and practical challenges that comparatists may encounter. Thirdly, the relationship between comparative planning law and neighbouring legal areas pertaining to planning law that need to be investigated together is examined, with an emphasis on the need for a flexible approach when examining pertinent legal areas. The last part of this chapter analyses a discussion of the theoretical connections between comparative legal theories and comparative planning law, recommending various approaches based on the level of research objective and practical applications of comparative analysis.