People are at the heart of planning. This is because individuals and groups live, work, play and form communities in the places that planners shape, conserve and manage. Not only must planners understand the characteristics and qualities of different individuals and communities, they also have a responsibility to respond to their varying needs, hopes and aspirations.

This chapter provides an overview of community diversity in contemporary Australia and examines the planning implications of social and demographic differences among people. Different historical planning responses to diversity are contrasted with contemporary planning practice. Termed ‘social planning’, this practice rests on a foundation of social justice principles. With a range of strategic and statutory techniques and processes, social planning enables planners to understand people’s social and cultural needs and accommodate them as equitably as possible. This chapter argues that social planning is not merely supplementary to ‘mainstream’ planning. Rather, it is at the core of all good contemporary planning, which should aim to integrate physical land use with socio-cultural factors in the quest to build sustainable and equitable environments for all.