To me, structured planning simply means planning done methodically rather than haphazardly. I think "gestaltende Planung" is positive planning, i.e. planning carried out with certain beneficial outcomes in mind. Positive planning appears to be a current buzzword.

Die Biosphäre Entlebuch ist ein Modellfall für «Positivplanung, verstanden als gestaltende Planung,
welche wirtschaftliche und gesellschaftliche Aspekte mitnimmt» (Lendi 2002:2).


www.nsl.ethz.ch/index.php/en/content/download/1010/6206/fil...

Allerdings: Die Zukunftsberatung leidet unter dem Generalverdacht fehlerhafter Prognosen. In der Auseinandersetzung mit der Zukunft geht es jedoch nicht darum, die tatsächliche Entwicklung vorherzusagen, sondern Hinweise auf Fehlentwicklungen, die es durch restriktive Massnahmen zu vermeiden gilt, zu gewinnen und dort positive (gestaltende) und/oder negative (abwehrende) Massnahmen zu ergreifen, wo es gilt, Freiheits- und Freiräume für die kommenden Generationen zu erhalten, zurückzugewinnen oder zu gestalten.
http://e-collection.ethbib.ethz.ch/ecol-pool/bericht/bericht...

Neben dem Lärmschutz an der Quelle und dem Schutz durch vorausschauende, gestaltende Planung spielt das Instrumentarium zur Verkehrslenkung seit jeher ebenfalls eine bedeutende Rolle im Verkehrslärmschutz65).

http://www.vcd.org/fileadmin/user_upload/redakteure/themen/g...

ROOM has established a Positive Planning Unit to promote the concept and practice of positive planning, particularly in the provision of affordable housing and community regeneration. This is achieved through identifying and recording practical examples of where the planning system has acted as a positive force for change, by evaluating these and by disseminating them through publications, seminars and training.

http://www.room.org.uk/archive/planning/index.htm

The Way Forward for Positive Planning
A top priority now must be how to achieve more beneficial outcomes from the planning system rather than the current narrow minded focus on process. This may be by local authorities or through new mechanisms such as Urban Regeneration Companies. It will be achieved not solely by legislation but by the acceptance of the need for change by planners, other professionals, politicians and the community as a whole.
The RTPI is campaigning for a change in focus in thinking about planning away from process and towards outcomes.
The RTPI believes that a strong and positive planning system is vital to support enterprise and economic growth and to ensure that this growth benefits all parts of the country and the different communities within it. Effective planning brings greater certainty for investment, ensures robust development, delivers an efficient pattern of land use and ensures that development is of a high quality and is in the right place at the right time.
The control and regulation of development is a vital tool for the positive development of an area but it is not an end in itself. It must be seen within a context of managing necessary urban and rural change to achieve the greatest benefit. The RTPI believes that, as a straightforward signifier of this new positive thinking, the term development control should be changed to ‘development management’.

http://www.room.org.uk/archive/manifesto/man-sec3.htm