Brendan Gleeson, Toni Darbas, Laurel Johnson and Suzanne Lawson develop an operational framework for describing and analysing metropolitan plans. The framework aims to provide a basis for describing and analysing current metropolitan plans with reference to key Australian and overseas debates about urban strategic planning, and provide an operational structure for the formulation of a metropolitan plan. This is the first of four reports for Planning NSW. Brendan Gleeson, Toni Darbas, Laurel Johnson and Suzanne Lawson develop an operational framework for describing and analysing metropolitan plans. The framework aims to provide a basis for describing and analysing current metropolitan plans with reference to key Australian and overseas debates about urban strategic planning, and provide an operational structure for the formulation of a metropolitan plan.