Abstract:

This paper examines each of these themes in their implications for local government social research and relates them to studies carried out by the Greater London Council. Within the context of the powers granted to it by the London Government Act, the GLC is a strategic authority for planning, transport and housing. The themes of behaviour, consumer preferences and participation in planning are illustrated in a number of studies carried out in Greater London and explicitly linked to the relationships between policy needs and research design and the influence of research results on policy formulation.