Urban planning is one of many fields in which the advantages of GIS seem to be broadly accepted in general but not always in the particular; there are still many hazy ideas about the benefits of the technology and little systematic guidance on the matter. This paper is the first of a two-part review defining the scope of the contribution of GIS in planning analysis. The usefulness of GIS as a tool for building planning support systems, it is argued, is best assessed with reference to the nature of the scientific input required at the various stages of decisionmaking. Characterising planning by its scientific inputs, defined in terms of procedural and substantive planning theory, the author attempts to make definitive statements about the potential contribution of GIS irrespective of specific current technologies or the existence of tried applications. The technology's limitations as a planning aid are also highlighted, and tasks for which GIS offers little or no substantial advantages are identified. In this respect this paper should provide a useful guide to the GIS agendas of planning practitioners and researchers as well as being a pedagogic device. In this first paper, the role of GIS in descriptive analysis is discussed. In the second paper the focus shifts to predictive and prescriptive analysis, and it concludes with some general principles and pointers to the future of GIS in planning.
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