It is a top-down planning of the worst type and is against all principles of participatory democracy.

Some liberal public intellectuals have, since the 1950s, moved further toward the general position that free markets, when appropriately regulated, can provide better solutions than top-down economic planning.

Concepts such as top-down planning (as opposed to bottom-up planning) reveal similarities with the systems thinking behind the top-down model.

In sum, Mr. Sinton said in an interview, "it's the kind of top-down planning that doesn't work in a place where local power tends to rule."

To Mr. Sullivan, "top-down planning" is the only kind that works.

I then advocated the creation of the vision of where the company should be going by means of an iterative process combining both bottom-up and top-down planning.

Toronto City Council was changing at the time to oppose the "top-down" planning of the Metro government.

This system demonstrates the desirable mix of top-down and bottom-up planning ensuring government control as well as effective reforestation through active community participation.

Unfortunately, the bank is one of the few institutions that still support the top-down centralized economic planning to force through a megaproject like Three Gorges.

It is not only top-down planning that has gone; much of the faith in a strong central state has disappeared.