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The Uses of Planning Theory:
A Bibliographic Essay
John Friedmann
Preface
Studying planning at the University of Chicago in the early 50s, I was privileged
to be a student of Edward C. Banfield who offered the first planning theory
seinar ever to be held anywhere. !ong the assigned readings which
influenced e the ost was "arl #annhei$s Man and Society in an Age of
Reconstruction (1949; orig. 1940) a translation of which had %ust appeared, and
&erbert !. Sion$sAdministratie !ehaior (19"#$ orig. 194%). #annhei was a
&ungarian sociologist who had fled to the United "ingdo %ust before the war
and was best 'nown for his wor' on the sociology of 'nowledge( Sion, an
!erican student of public adinistration would receive the )obel *ri+e for his
wor' on artificial intelligence any years later. hile #annhei was searching
for a deocratic alternative to the twin evils of counis and fascis, Sion
e-plored the possibilities of rational decision a'ing in the conte-t of !erican
bureaucracy. Banfield hiself was particularly fascinated by Sion and
undertoo' his own research into the field of housing policy in Chicago #eyerson
and Banfield, /551. &is conclusion that planning for public housing in the indy
City was all about politics, and that the planners$ purported rationalis was little
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ore than an ideological so'e screen, led hi eventually to the study of urban
politics and a professorship at &arvard. But I was bitten by the bug of 2planning
theory3 which neither then nor now can be precisely defined and encopasses
a vast terrain1 and have been engaged in thin'ing about planning ever since.
I ention this personal story because, since those early and tentative
beginnings, planning theory has becoe a respectable sub%ect with a %ournal
e-clusively devoted to the topic and courses on the history and theory of
planning offered in ost !erican planning schools, often as an introductory
sub%ect. In fact, coverage of planning theory is now andated for accreditation
purposes. 4espite this apparent 2success,3 s'eptical voices still disiss its
usefulness for practice. !s Sanyal has argued$ based on a survey of planning
practitioners, not one of the had found planning theory, or indeed any theory,
useful as they grappled with conflicting interests Sanyal 001. 6hey learned by
doing, Sanyal said, not fro theories. 6he present essay is y attept to argue
otherwise, stressing several 2uses3 of planning theory as I see the. I a fairly
certain that if they were pressed for an answer now, ost practitioners would
continue to validate Sanyal$s conclusion. But I believe that any intellectual
discipline has its particular role to play in the discourse about planning and
indeed in acadeic discourse generally, and that this discourse cannot but affect
the thousands of planning students who are pu++led by the 7uestion of 2what is
planning.3 8ver the years our answers to this e-istential 7uestion have changed,
and our writings on planning theory have helped to shape the inds of our
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students as they eerged into their own practices. In this way, and for the ost
part unbe'nown to theselves, they have contributed to the generational drift in
our collective understanding of planning practice. e have distanced ourselves
fro a practice conceived as a for of rational decision9a'ing, the doinant
odel in the iediate post9war era, to our current understanding that planning
is inevitably ebedded in politics, reflecting and adapted to what for want of a
better ter we call the spirit of the ties.
6he writings that I will cite in this essay obviously reflect y own biases, and it
would be false odesty to deny that I have contributed to this discourse for ore
than 50 years and a perhaps responsible for soe of the shifts that have
occurred :riedann 00, ch. ;1. 8thers ay well disagree with what I call the
three central 2tas's3 of planning theory, or how the writers who contributed to this
discourse actually understood what they were doing. !nd so, because I value
discussion, I invite responses to the present version of what I perceive to be the
case.
!n essay such as this is necessarily written in a style that is ore or less
ipersonal. I will therefore inter%ect ore personal coents fro tie to tie
such as this *reface. 6he reader will recogni+e the by the italic script.
Introduction
'anning theory is ecoming an increasingy goa discourse. *he e+onymous
,ourna *lanning 6heory-as founded y uigi Ma//a of the niersity of Miano
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in the 1990s. Seera oumes of Ango2American +anning theorists (Forester$
Friedmann$ 3eaey$ and Sandercoc among others) hae een transated into
5taian and +uished y 6edao under the genera editorshi+ of 6ino !orri of the
*echnica niersity of !ari. 5n the 7$ 'atsy 3eaey$ -ith the strong su++ort of
the Roya *o-n 'anning 5nstitute$ founded the ,ourna *lanning 6heory and
*ractice-hich in &008 is ceerating its tenth anniersary. 5n ermany$ 7aus
See at the niersity of Aachen has een a ma,or contriutor to +anning
theoretica discourse. 5ndiidua contriutions hae come from 5srae$ !ra/i$
:or-ay$ 6enmar$ !egium$ and reece. And as recent issues of the China City
*lanning
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endeaor. 5 refer to them as >tass$@ -hich is to say that they are ma,or concerns$
-hether eB+icit or im+icit$ of those +artici+ating in the discourse.
*he first tas is to eoe a dee+y considered humanist +hioso+hy for +anning
and to trace its im+ications for +ractice. *his is thephilosophical tas of +anning
theory. *he second tas is to he+ ada+t +anning +ractices to their rea2-ord
constraints -ith regard to scae$ com+eBity$ and time. difference@ maes. 5 ca this the tas of adaptation. *he third
tas is to transate conce+ts and no-edges generated in other fieds into our
o-n domain$ and to render them accessie and usefu for +anning and its
+ractices. 5 ca this the tas of translation.5n the remainder of this essay$ 5 -i
eaorate on each of these tass y dra-ing on s+ecific eBam+es from the
iterature.
I Evolving a humanist philosophy for planning and its practices
It doesn$t see so very long ago that planning was perceived to be a value9free
activity guided by professional if not scientific standards. *lanners, it was argued,
are guardians of the public interest. 6oday, it would be difficult to aintain this
position=or is it> In ?apan, for instance, planning is still largely perceived as a
technocratic activity e-ercised by 6o'yo9based bureaucrats Sorensen 001,
and versions of this attitude are widely held throughout East !sia.!nd although
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)orth !erican planners no longer ebrace technocratic hubris, architects and
soe urban designers by and large still do, and econoists of the neo9classical
variety regard their pronounceents as scientifically based advice to policy9
a'ers who can then e-ercise their values in whatever way they choose. 6hey
believe in the a-i of spea'ing truth to power. In their understanding, facts and
values don$t i-( they are derived fro different logics.
!nd yet, as planners, we don$t have a well thought9out philosophical position
beyond the usual platitudes of 2participation.3 Soe planners today thin' of their
priary role as that of facilitating public discussion or ediating disputes. hile
they ay favor a different outcoe, their professional s'ill is priarily to assist in
2getting to yes3 aong sta'eholders, in arriving at an actionable consensus,
whatever that ay turn out to be. 6his facilitative approach is a considerable
distance fro an understanding of a planning practice ebedded in politics.
So the 7uestion for us is this@ can planners evolve a value9based philosophy as a
foundation for their own practices in the world> #y personal view is that this is
perhaps the a%or challenge before us in a world that, despite protestations to
the contrary, is increasingly aterialist, individualist, and largely indifferent to
huans$ ipacts on the natural environent. In the absence of a huan9
centered philosophy or soe other defensible construct, we will erely drift with
the ainstrea, helping to build cities that are neither supportive of life nor
ecologically sustainable.
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A
*hat +anning is not a aue2free actiity has een -idey acno-edged for some
time$ at east in :orth America$ -here aue2ased +anning is no onger a saient
issue. *he anadian 5nstitute of 'anners$ for eBam+e$ has an 82+oint
>Statement of Caues@ that is meant to sere as a source of ins+iration and
guidance for +rofessiona +anner
(---.ci+icu.caDEngishDmemersD+ractice.htm). Moreoer$ for +rogressie
+anners in the S and anada$ socia ,ustice concerns hae een an im+ortant
focus for decades$ eer since 'au 6aidoff (19#%) made the case for +anners
adocacy of the +oor and hester 3artmans *lanners )etwor' )ewsletterin
19"%$ -hich has no- eoed into the =uartery ,ourna$ *rogressive *lanning
(3artman &00&). E=uay notae is Susan Fainsteins tireess adocacy of socia
,ustice in the city (Fainstein &000; forthcoming). More recenty$ some +anning
schoos (es+eciay in anada)$ such as the Schoo of ommunity and Regiona
'anning at the niersity of !ritish oumia$ hae decared themsees to e
committed to sustainaiity and the democrati/ation of +anning$ thus maing a
s+ecific aue2orientation centra to their mission. And oer the years$ arious
aue caims hae een emraced y oth the +anning academy and many
indiidua +ractitioners$ such as adocacy of the +oor and other marginai/ed
+eo+e$ citi/en +artici+ation$ incusieness$ and the right to housing.
*hese commitments did not$ ho-eer$ sim+y >dro+ from the sy@ ut -ere the
resut of +oitica strugges$ deates$ and dramatic changes in the +eitgeistof our
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societies. nderying them$ too$ -ere ne- researches$ ne- discourses$ and ne-
common understandings aout the contem+orary -ord. *hese -ritings$
addressed to +anners ut occasionay to a more genera readershi+ as -e$ are
+art and +arce of -hat 5 ca the centra tass of +anning theory. 5f +anning
+ractice is no-$ as 5 -oud argue$ oth societa and +oitica$ and if -e ie$ as -e
are oiged to$ in an increasingy interconnected -ord$ -e hae to thin more
and more dee+y aout the aues that shoud inform our +ractices$ including
how to ove fro values to action. 5n the foo-ing +aragra+hs$ 5 -i gie the
merest hints of the eBtensie -or that ies ahead for us.
5 egin -ith -hat 5 eiee to e our irthright to human fourishing. 5n an essay
on the >good city@$ 5 argued that 2every huan being has the right to the full
developent of their innate intellectual, physical, and spiritual capabilities in the
conte-t of wider counities.35 caed this the right to huan flourishingand
+ro+osed it as the most fundamenta of human rights (Friedmann &00&$ 110). 1
'hioso+hica anthro+oogy teaches us that indiidua human eings cannot e
meaningfuy descried as an astract conce+t such as the utiity2maBimi/ing
>economic man@ of neo2cassica thought -hich$ -hen seriousy a++ied in +oicy
discourse$ can hae icious conse=uences (ar &00&). Rather$ from the
moment of conce+tion unti -e die$ human eings can ony e understood as
muti2dimensiona$ sociay2reated eings$ orpersons-ho$ oer the entire arc of
their ies$ eoe ioogicay$ +sychoogicay and in the socia reations that
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constitute our coectie eBistence. More recenty$ -e hae come to understand
human interde+endence not ony societay ut aso -ith the natura enironment
oth are essentia to our continued sustenance and fourishing (6ay and Farey
&004; ar &00&). *his anthro2ecoogica mode is essentiay one of liits
imited$ that is$ y the re=uirements of ioogica and +sychoogica ife$ cuturay
mediated socia oigations$ the eBtensie +roduction of use aues -ithout -hich
-e -oud not surie and -hich some refer to as the mora economy$ and
natures ca+acity to sustain human ife on earth at sociay acce+tae ees of
iing ('oanyi 19"").
*-o crucia oserations foo- from -oring -ith a mode of imits. *he first is
that it cashes -ith the eief in the +ossiiity of unimited cumuatie gro-th in
materia consum+tion and thus$ +resumay$ of human ha++iness as -e (an
eer increasing >ha++iness?@)$ a eief that has ecome the dominant ideoogy in
+oicy +anning -ord-ide. *he second is that an im+ication of -oring -ith
either or oth modes is ound to ead to contradictionsthat can ony e resoed
either +eacefuy through a +oitica +rocess or$ faiing that$ y de+oying the
+oice +o-ers of the state. An eBam+e is the off2oading of the rising economic
and enironmenta costs of unimited materia gro-th onto the east +o-erfu
sectors of the +o+uation (using the fu +o-ers of the state to enforce this
soution) andDor onto the -eaest countries of the goa community$ many of
them in Africa and the Midde East. 5n other -ords$ increasing domestic and
goa ine=uaities are +arty res+onsie for generating the +resent -ord
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disorderranging from drugs$ +eo+e smugging$ hunger$ and random ioence
against ciiian +o+uations to desertification$ goa -arming$ and the >ong
emergency@ of +ost2+ea oi (7unster &00#). Since ioent soutions may e the
most +roae ut are aso the east desirae$ -e are for a +ractica +ur+oses
eft -ith ony a range of +oitica o+tions.
At a theoretica ee$ these o+tions confront us -ith the chaenge to deise
+oitica systems andDor +rocesses ca+ae of oercoming the inherent
contradictions in +uic +oicy -or. *his ine of argument taes us directy to the
=uestion of democratic theory most of -hich$ at east in recent decades$ has had
the nation state as its focus. 'anners hae made fe- contriutions to democratic
theory as such$ +ossiy ecause our attention is oer-hemingy focused on the
oca.&
*-enty years ago$ in an attem+t to -rite the history of +anning thought$ 5
suggested that John 6e-eys eB+erimenta +ragmatism$ 7ar Mannheims >third
-ay@ of democratic +anning$ 7ar 'o++ers adocacy of an >o+en society@$ and
Roert 6ah and hares indoms +oitica economy offered +anners a ridge
to +oitica theory (Friedmann 198").!ut turning to contem+orary +oitica theory
directy$ +erha+s the most infuentia -or oer the +ast haf century has een
Shedon
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4iensions of as a form of
goernment in -hich free and e=ua citi/ens (and their re+resentaties) ,ustify
decisions in a +rocess in -hich they gie one another reasons that are mutuay
acce+tae and generay accessie$ -ith the aim of reaching concusions that
are inding in the +resent on a citi/ens ut o+en to chaenge in the future@
(utmann and *hom+son &004).%Cirtuay a the deates that hae s-ired
around this conce+t$ ho-eer$ hae cast their arguments in terms of a nationa
+oity$ and the reeance of +uic >deieration@ as this term is used y +oitica
scientists has found itte resonance among +anners.
Archon Fungs recent -or is an eBce+tion. sing a series of siB case studies
from hicago$ Fung has gien us a detaied oo at deieratie democracy at
-or (Fung &004; see aso Fung$
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community is a famiiar one to +anners$ es+eciay to those -oring in mediation
and negotiation$ such as Judith 5nnes and 6aid !ooher (&00).
5t is John Forester$ ho-eer$ -ho has taen deieratie democracys mora
ision furthest y -oring it into the anguage and +ractice of community +anning
(Forester 1999). 3is eary -ritings focused on the art of istening$ ut in 6he
4eliberative *ractitionerhe de+arted from the rationaist modes of +oitica
scientists and +hioso+hers such as JHrgen 3aermas to confront the dee+
grieances and +assionate commitments +eo+e often ring to +uic
deierations. 5f the +arties to a confict see to reach agreement$ their +ains$
+assions$ and grieances$ he argues$ must first e +uicy acno-edged. Most
im+ortanty for +anning theory$ +erha+s$ is his em+hasis on -hat he cas
transforative learningthat occurs -hen +eo+e honesty confront their emotions
and those of others in the course of taing -ith each other.
entra to Foresters -or is the +rinci+e of diaogue$ -hich the Je-ish
+hioso+her Martin !uer has caed das wischenenschliche,that -hich inds
humans together and$ in a -ider circe of interde+endencies$ ,oins us in oing
attentieness to a iing eings on Earth (!uer 19#%). 5n a oo 5 caed 6he
Dood Society$ 5 eB+ored this +rinci+e in its muti+e forms and amiguities$ and
suggested that human onds can e formed into socia moements (or
tem+orary sodaities) that$ through +ersona engagement and +oitica strugge$
act as the iing germ ce in the mora transformation of human societies
(Friedmann 19"9). *oday$ Forester continues this eB+oration y focusing on
1&
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more stae$ +ace2ound communities in the sma s+aces of the city -hich are
its neighorhoods and other negected$ often inisie s+aces. 5t is interesting to
note ho- des+ite the gigantism of the modern uran$ s+reading as it does oer
thousands of s=uare iometers$ these intimate s+aces of uran ife surie$
forming a ta+estry of socia reations that is dee+y meaningfu for those -eaing
its +atterns. Efforts such as Foresters and others at constructing a mora
foundation for +anning are essentia if -e -ant to further the good and aoid ei$
-hich is the dar side of +anning in the serice of a +o-erfu$ inherenty immora
state (Giftache 1998).
II Adapting planning practices to their real-world constraints: scale
comple!ity and time
6heorists are forever watching the world as it goes through its transforations.
:or soe, this is an e-citing prospect, but planners are not %ournalists who can
dispassionately observe the passing scene. 6hey have to as' theselves@ Diven
the reality of what is happening now, can planning powers intervene to shift the
balance of forces towards goals of social %ustice and inclusion in the ongoing
processes of urban and regional restructuring, and with what tools at hand>
6he si-ty plus years since orld ar II have been oentous ones as world
population increased three9fold, while the ratio of urban dwellers increased by
nearly five ties to reach fifty percent of the total by 00. 6his scale of
deographic growth is without historical precedent, and planners have had to
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wor' with only sidgens of 'nowledge to guide the. Soeone once called it
2planning without facts.3 )one of us could clai to understand what was actually
happening, or where we were headed, if indeed there was a destination. !s a
rule, we spo'e with far greater certainty than was warranted( soe ight even
argue that we were 2whistling in the dar'.3 Still, one had a sense of being close
to the ragged frontlines of history. 6hat at least is what I felt when I wor'ed
successively in Bra+il, ene+uela, Chile, "orea, #o+abi7ue, 6hailand, ?apan,
and latterly in China. But I believe that even bac' hoe in )orth !erica,
planning was often ore a venturing forth into the un'nown terrain of the future
than the precise surgical procedure involved in, say, reoving a ruptured
appendi-.
I return then to the 7uestion of liits, this tie the liits of 'nowledge about a
world that despite incredible scientific achieveents in soe reals leaves
any of us perple-ed. e can iagine soething better than what we see
around us, but such visions are fugitive, and our actions, iperfect as they are,
often contribute to the general sense of turbulence rather than bringing us closer
to iaginary futures. Under these circustances, the best we can hope for is to
a'e pragatic responses to eergencies that are already upon us. Dlobal
waring is a telling e-aple.
6his then is the story of how planning theorists have tried to close the feedbac'
loop between observed events on the ground and the teachings of our
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profession. !nd in this, at least, as I will try to show, their efforts have been
partially successful.
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these em+resarios of uran transformation$ e-is Mumford$ though neer a
+anner himsef$ iened +anning to a form of gardeningIa it of +runing here$ a
it of muching there22that$ in rhythm -ith the cyces of nature$ -oud he+ to ring
aout a io2centric uran region (Mumford 198). Enironmentaists today are
rediscoering Mumford$ -hie other oserers$ im+atient -ith contem+orary :e-
Gors snai2+aced +anning +rocess$ cast nostagic ac-ard gances at Roert
Moses and his decisieness$ +oitica acumen$ and aiity to gie sustance to his
ision. So the ,ury on -hat sort of +anning -e shoud hae$ and ho- much
>no-edge@ (and een -hat sortof no-edge) is necessary for good +anning
is$ 5m afraid$ sti out.
*here is aso the =uestion of -hat is meant aoe y a >reiae@ no-edge for
+anning decisions. r do isions suffice? S+eaing +ros+ectiey as +anners
often do$ -hat$ for instance$ is the est route for a ne- transit ine$ and -oud
uiding it e an economicay sound decision? nfortunatey$ =uestions of this
sort are neer +ausiy ans-ered. Engineering criteria can e inoed$ ut in the
end$ -e no- that forecasts of future transit demand are unreiae$ the more so
the onger the time +eriod in ie- (Fy,erg et a. &00; Atshuer and ueroff
&00). Such decisions are utimatey eft to +oiticians$ ureaucrats$ usiness
oies$ uran socia moements$ and the media to resoeIthat is$ to the
+oitica +rocess. 'arentheticay$ it might e noted that oca +oiticians tenure is
rarey ong enough to eB+erience the conse=uences of their choice. Since +uic
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memory is simiary short$ +oitica decisions are fre=uenty irres+onsie$ if not
recess.
5 return then to the =uestion of no-edge for +anning. *hroughout the -ord$
+anning education re=uires at east a first uniersity degree and$ in many
countries$ the e=uiaent of an American masters degree. So one -oud thin
that a high measure of forma no-edge is after a re=uired as a +oint of entry
into the +rofession. com+rehensie@ or >strategic@ +ans for a city or region$ they face the amost
1"
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im+ossie tas of re+resenting the city or region in t-o2dimensiona s+ace at a
scae that can e isuai/ed at a singe gance. Eery ma+ is a mode$ and eery
mode is a radica sim+ificationIan astractionIof reaity.
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ien ho- these circumstances constrain their craft$ is it sur+rising that
munici+a +anners are continuay reising their +ans to ring them u+2to2date$
-hie any s+ecific +ro+osas come ineitay under fire from adersaries oth
inside and outside the goernment? S+eaing generay$ the infuence of this ty+e
of +anning on the sha+ing of uran com+eBes has een minima. 'erha+s it is
for this reason that +anning +ractice in :orth America has increasingy turned
entre+reneuria$ focusing on +ro,ects and +artnershi+ arrangements rather than
com+rehensie +ans$ and -hy theorists such as Forester (1989) and Fy,erg
(1998a) hae strongy argued for a stye of +oiticay say +anning.
For many +anners$ this -as aready cear during the turuent siBties -hen socia
moements fourished. Many American +anning schoos ecame hot s+ots of
socia actiism -hich soon oershado-ed more traditiona +anning concerns$
such as and use. 5n 19%9$ hares indom$ a +oitica economist at Gae$
+uished -hat -as to ecome his most +o+uar ,ourna artice eer (re+rinted
oer 40 timesK)$ +roocatiey entited >*he Science of Mudding *hrough@
(indom 19%9). 5n it$ he argued against >syno+tic@ +anning -hich he dismissed
as a uto+ian endeaor$ +ro+osing instead a >dis,ointed incrementaism@ in -hich
a arge numer of reatiey autonomous ut net-ored actors -oud ad,ust their
o-n short2term +ans$ each according to the continuay changing conditions
confronting them. *his -as the com+etitie maret re2inter+reted for the -ord of
+oicy and +anning. !ut fe- +anners in the academy heeded his ca; most -ere
sti in thra to the idea of com+rehensieness. Et/ionis attem+t to comine
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road isions -ith incrementa ste+s to achiee them$ -hich he caed >miBed
scanning$@ -as simiary un+ersuasie (Et/ioni 19#8). 'anning theorists -ere sti
in thra -ith a mode of ho- to mae decisions rationa.
5n staehoders@
most of -hom came from concerned goernment agencies and the cor+orate
sector$ -ith a ne- >third sector@ emracing cii society at some distance ehind.
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Sef2identified staehoders no- had a egitimate caim to sit at the tae -hen
decisions affecting their interests -ere eing made.8
*he seenties and eighties -ere indeed an era of historica transition -hose
+rofound effects -oud e fet around the goe. MarBists eB+ained -hat -as
ha++ening as a crisis of accumuation$ and some authors een toyed -ith the
amiguous +hrase >ate ca+itaism@ to characteri/e this +eriod (Mande 19"%).
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!uestones 6he Dreat U96urn@ Corporate
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eB+eriment that has ins+ired simiar endeaors throughout !ra/i$ Euro+e$ and
anada$ though none as attention2getting as the origina eB+eriment. As non2
goernmenta organi/ations +roiferated throughout the -ord$ community
em+o-erment -as eing touted as a +anacea for marginai/ed neighorhoods in
the oa South (Friedmann 199a). ii society$ a term -ith a ong historica
+edigree in +oitica +hioso+hy$ had een reinented y the ieration theoogy
moement of the athoic hurch in !ra/i and then in atin America more
generay (ehmann 1990; Escoar and Aare/ 199&). 5nde+endent of its atin
American usage$ it -as aso used to descrie the source of +oitica ieration as
eastern Euro+e shoo off its decades2ong yoe of ommunist rue (ohen and
Arato 199&).
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the century$ mediation had ecome an im+ortant ne- ranch not ony of +anning
ut of ega studies as -e (e!aron &00&). arry Sussind and John Forester
made ey contriutions to this ne- s+eciai/ation$ the first in a series of
+uications cuminating in 6he Consensus Building &andboo'@ !
Coprehensive Duide to su++ressing confict is su++ressing freedom$ ecause the +riiege to
engage in confict is +art of freedom@ (Fy,erg 1998$ &09). *hus he eB+ressed
se+ticism aout the non2+oitici/ed +rocesses of mediation and uiding
consensus.
Mediations not-ithstanding$ and -ith the a++earance of an increasingy oca
and +oiticay actie cii society$ +oitics and therefore confict around aues and
+riorities hae ecome centra to +anning. James 3oston (1999)$ an uran
anthro+oogist -ho has done eBtensie fied -or in !ra/i$ introduced the term
>insurgent citi/enshi+$@ -hich -as suse=uenty ado+ted y Sandercoc -ho
made insurgent +ractices centra to her +ath2reaing -or on accommodating
&4
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difference in the contem+orary metro+ois$ though she -as =uic to +oint out that
>confict@ around differences neednt e ioent. 5n an uran -ord$ she -rote$
insurgencies can resut from >a thousand tiny em+o-erments@ rather than from
reoutionary adentures (Sandercoc 1998$ 1&921%9). ie indom$ she ne-
that ig changes often come from an accumuation of many sma ones. Athough
diaogue and mediation hae their +ace in the +oitica ife of cities$ -here +o-er
differences are great$ and fundamenta -ord ie-s or strongy hed +rinci+es are
at stae$ such as the uniersa right to housing$ mediation cannot e the defaut
+osition. 'oitica strugges are needed.
9
5n concuding this +art of the essay$ 5 -ant to mention a fina +anning inention
-hich o-es as much to theory as to +ractice. 5 hae in mind the ne- interest in
>isioning@ that has emerged in res+onse to the increasingy fragmentary
character of +anning +ractices that are either +ro,ect2focused or tae +ace ony
in isoated oca neighorhoods sated for redeeo+ment. 5n Euro+e$ isioning
eBercises are often referred to as >s+atia strategies@ (3eaey et a. 199";
Arechts &004; 3eaey &00#$ &00"). For 3eaey$ -ho has een a eading oice
eB+ressing this a++roach in +aces such as :orthern 5reand and the Amsterdam
region$ s+atia strategies hae transformatie +otentia. *hey are meant to
enarge the thining of +oicy communities$ to eB+ore ne- o+tions in a
coordinated -ay ut -ithout re=uiring a forma commitment to carry them out. 5n
her atest oo$ she eB+ains
Strategy2maing$ understood reationay$ inoes connecting no-edge
resources and reationa resourcesto generate moiisation force. Such
&%
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resources form in institutiona sites in goernance andsca+es from -hich a
strategic framing discourse diffuses out-ards.Efforts in strategy2maing may
e initiated in many different institutiona sites$ ut to hae significant effects$ the
moiisation dynamichas to moe to-ards arenas that are centra to accessing
the resources (oer -hich a strategy needs) to gain infuence. (3eaey &00"$
198)
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+oitica in the conteBt of mediation and confict resoution in -hich$ echoing !ent
Fy,erg$ he +rioriti/es >+ractica ,udgment.@
!efore +roceeding to +anning theorys third tas$ et me reca the ma,or
>ada+tations@ oer the +ast fifty years or so to the continuay changing if not
turuent conteBt in -hich +anning +ractice is emedded in :orth America
dialogue, social learning, utual learning, social participation, collaboration,
ediation, social obili+ation, social and political epowerent, and strategic
planning or visioning.*aen together$ these terms and the theories to -hich they
are ined hae contriuted to changing the face of our +rofession.
III Planning theory as the wor" of translation
*lanning theory, li'e planning practice, is an eclectic or, put ore elegantly, an
inter9disciplinary, even trans9disciplinary field. !s planners, we have a growing
literature of our own, of course, and our professoriat is increasingly hoe9grown
rather than iported fro allied disciplines. 6his was not always the case, and
as a planning student at the University of Chicago, virtually all of y teachers
were econoists, geographers, sociologists, anthropologists, students of politics,
counication specialists, various developent types, and even the odd
historian. #el Branch, the first planning *h.4. out of &arvard$s Draduate School
of 4esign, was our physical planner, but his was a lone voice for the city as
artifact aong a faculty of social scientists. 6he University of Chicago did not
teach architecture, and an early attept to lin' up with the Illinois Institute of
&"
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6echnology II61, which did architecture and urban design, failed to ateriali+e
because of the deep cognitive division between the design tradition and the
critical9analytic social science orientation we professed. )evertheless, we prided
ourselves in being 2inter9disciplinary3, a pride that would ultiately coe to fall
when ten years after its founding, the *rogra for Education and
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graduate as generalists with only a vague grasp of what the university as a
whole has on offer.
Fet, without reaching beyond its own borders in the search for pertinent
'nowledge, it is easy for planning to becoe ore and ore inward9oriented, a
professional field that defines itself chiefly by its own technical copetencies. In
the longer ter, building walls around our little turf will inevitably lead to
intellectual stasis. It is for this reason that I want to argue for a third tas' of
planning theory I call translation, that raises our hori+on to include the vast field
of huan 'nowledge or perhaps, to spea' with Geonie Sandercoc', of
'nowledges in the plural Sandercoc' /, !ppendi-1.
I see planning theorists actively engaged in ining e-peditions into the universe
of 'nowledge, on the loo'out for concepts and ideas they believe to be of interest
in planning education. 6heir specific contribution to theory is to return fro these
e-peditions to hoe base and translate their discoveries into the language of
planning where they will either ta'e root or be uncereoniously forgotten.
A
As discussion in the +receding +arts of this essay has sho-n$ +anning theorists
ty+icay enture eyond the oundaries of their +rofession. 3ere then 5 -i not
try to re+rise the trans2disci+inary generation of +anning no-edge. 5nstead$ 5
-i highight the -or of a eading +anning theorist to -hom -e are indeted for
eB+anding our understanding of the domain of +anning Susan S. Fainstein. 5
&9
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might e=uay hae chosen other +rominent schoars$ such as !ent Fy,erg$
John Forester$ eonie Sandercoc$ or 'atsy 3eaey -hose -ritings hae ins+ired
generations of students. !ut s+ace imitations +reent me from citing more
eBam+es.
Fainstein -ors from -ithin a +oitica economy tradition -hose origins can e
traced in MarBist and neo2MarBist -ritings. 3er contriutions to +anning theory
are distinctie in t-o -ays. First$ she has consistenty esche-ed astract
theori/ing in faor of grounding theory in the reaities of s+ecific cities such as
:e- Gor$ ondon$ or Amsterdam. Much of her -or has een critica of +anning
and -as fre=uenty regarded as haing more to do -ith the uran than -ith
+anning as such. er the ast t-o decades$ ho-eer$ and this is her second
mar of distinction$ she has een deeo+ing a normatie asis for +anning the
>,ust city@ (Fainstein &000; forthcoming). As distinct from +rocess theorists$ she
insists on the im+ortance of ooing at +anning outcomes. good city$@ Fainstein criticay eBamines not ony aternatie
isions of the city$ such as the :e- ranism$ ut engages authors -ho$ though
remote from most +anning reading ists hae had much to say on ho- to thin
aout the =uaity of uran ife. Among them are John Ra-s$ Amartya Sen$
Martha :ussaum$ JHrgen 3aermas$ and most im+ortanty$ 5ris Marion Goung.
0
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6ra-ing s+ecificay on Goung (1990; &000)$ she argues for a +oitics of coectie
identities$ of grou+ings according to gender$ race$ seBua orientation$ and
immigrant status eyond those of socia cass -hich had een the tradition on the
marBist eft throughout most of the 19thand &0thcenturies. She aso su+ersedes
the customary e=uity argument of this tradition$ y arguing not merey for greater
income e=uaity ut for im+roements in the tota circumstances of ife of oth
+oor and midde income grou+s in their +articuar iing enironments. She
-rites >Faiure to acno-edge the coherence of coectiities and their structura
reationshi+ to each other eades a fundamenta socia issue of redistriutionI
ho- to aoid im+osing an unacce+tae urden on the etter2off. 3o- much
socia confict is an acce+tae +rice to +ay for greater ,ustice? N!Oy continuing
to conerse aout ,ustice$ -e can mae it centra to the actiity of +anning. *he
ery act of naming has +o-er@ (o+.cit.).
#onclusion
1
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5 hae argued that doing +anning theory has three tass that are centra to its
endeaors the +hioso+hica tas of eoing a humanist +hioso+hy to guide
+anners in their -or; the tas of ada+ting +anning +ractices to the continuay
changing course of human affairs; and the tas of transating no-edges and
conce+ts from fieds other than +anning into our o-n anguage. 5 see these tass
as maing a distinctie contriution to the +anning iterature and utimatey to our
+rofessiona +ractice as -e.
5 hae aso tried to sho- ho- +ursuing these tass graduay affects +anning
+ractices$ usuay ia +rofessiona education$ -hen students are first introduced
to academic discourses in the fied. As an integratie$ trans2disci+inary fied of
studies$ +anning addresses ife in a of its on2the2ground com+eBity. Such an
understanding of its mission cannot dis+ense -ith a normatie foundation such
as human fourishing and the ,ust city$ -hich of course -i e a-ays contested$
foreer remaining >under construction.@ 5n a ra+idy changing -ord$ the +anning
+rofession needs aso continuay ad,usted its orientation to -hat is ha++ening$
as these changes are inter+reted y an array of disci+ines su++emented y
+anners o-n +erce+tions and eB+eriences. Finay$ these t-o tass ca for a
third$ a reaching out eyond ones o-n it of turf to ring ac to our -orsho+s
at home the insights gained from the no-edge +ursuits of others. *hese three
tass are -hat 5 regard as centra to the concerns of +anning theorists and as
essentia to the itaity of our fied.
&
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$eferences
Aers$ Reecca &000$ Inventing Gocal 4eocracy@ Drassroots *olitics in Bra+il.
!ouder and ondon ynne Rienner.
Arechts$ ouis &004$ >Strategic (S+atia) 'anning ReeBamined$@ Environent
and *lanning B@ *lanning and 4esign, 1$ "42%8.
Arechts$ ouis and . ieois &004$ >*he Femish 6iamond ran :et-or in
the Maing? European *lanning Studies, /, H5/9;0.
Atshuer$ Aan and 6aid ueroff &00$ #ega9pro%ects@ 6he *olitics of Urban
*ublic Investent.
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!uer$ Martin 19#%$ 6he "nowledge of #an@ Selected Essays. Edited y Maurice
Friedman. :e- Gor 3ar+er oins.
astes$ Manue 198$ 6he City and the Drassroots@ ! Cross9Cultural 6heory of
Urban Social #oveents. !ereey niersity of aifornia 'ress.
ar$ Mary E. &00&$ In Search of &uan )ature.ondon Routedge.
ohen$ Joshua$ 1998$ >6emocracy and ierty$@ in John Ester$ ed.$ 4eliberative
4eocracy.amridge amridge niersity 'ress$ 18%2&1.
ohen$ Jean . and Andre- Arato 199&$ Civil Society and *olitical 6heory.
amridge$ MA M5* 'ress.
6ay$ 3erman E. and Joshua Farey$ &004$ Ecological Econoics. Adocacy and 'uraism in 'anning$@ ?ournal of the
!erican Institute of *lanning, 1 4$ 128.
6ougass$ Mie and John Friedmann$ eds.$ 1998$ Cities for Citi+ens@ *lanning
and the
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Fy,erg$ !ent 1998$ >Em+o-ering ii Society 3aermas$ Foucaut and the
Puestion of onfict$@ in Mie 6ougass and John Friedmann$ eds.$Cities for
Citi+ens@ *lanning and the
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Friedmann$ John 199$Q*o-ard a :on2Eucidean Mode of 'anning$Q ?ournal of
!erican *lanning !ssociation$ %9$ 48&28%.
Friedmann$ John &00&$ 6he *rospect of Cities.Minnea+ois niersity of
Minnesota 'ress.
Friedmann$ John$ Reecca Aers$ and iian Auter$ eds. 199#$ Eergences@
oen$s Struggles for Givelihood in Gatin !erica.A atin American Studies
o. 8&. os Angees A atin American enter 'uications.
Fung$ Archon$ &004$ Epowered *articipation@
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utmann$ Amy and 6ennis *hom+son$ &004$ hy 4eliberative 4eocracy>
'rinceton 'rinceton niersity 'ress.
3a,er$ Maarten and 3.
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3eaey$ 'atsy &00#$ >Reationa Dom+eBity and the 5maginatie 'o-er of
Strategic S+atia 'anning$@ European *lanning Studies,14$ %&%24#.
3eaey$ 'atsy &00"$ Urban Cople-ity and Spatial Strategies@ 6owards a
S+aces of 5nsurgent iti/enshi+$@ in James
3oston$ ed.$ Cities and Citi+enship. 6urham 6ue niersity 'ress.
5nnes$ Judith E. and 6aid E. !ooher &00$ >oaoratie 'oicy Maing
oernance *hrough 6iaogue$@ in Maarten 3a,er and 3endri
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7noB$ 'au and 'eter J. *ayor$ eds. 199%$ orld Cities in a orld Syste.
amridge amridge niersity 'ress.
7rumho/$ :orman and John Forester 1990$ #a'ing E7uity *lanning or'@
Geadership in the *ublic Sector. 'hiade+hia *em+e niersity 'ress.
7unster$ James 3o-ard &00#$ 6he Gong Eergency.:e- Gor roe 'ress.
e!aron$ Michee &00&$ Bridging 6roubled aters@ Conflict *he Science of Mudding *hrough$@ *ublic
!dinistration
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'oany$ 7ar 19""$ 6he Givelihood of #an. Edited y 3arry
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Sandercoc$ eonie &00$ Cosopolis @ #ongrel Cities in the /stCentury.
ondon ontinuum.
Sanya$ !ish-a+riya &00&$ >oai/ation$ Ethica om+romise and 'anning
*heory$@ *lanning 6heory, 1 (&) 11#2&.
Sassen$ Sasia$ ed. &00&$ Dlobal )etwor's, Gin'ing Cities. ondon Routedge.
Sassen$ Sasia &00#a$ Cities in a orld Econoy.
rd
ed. *housand as$ A
'ine Forge 'ress.
Schram$ Sanford F. and !rian aterino &00"$ #a'ing *olitical Science #atter.
:e- Gor :e- Gor niersity 'ress.
See$ 7aus &00#$ ed.$ ur rulichen Entwic'lung beitragen. *lanung neu
den'en, vol. /. 4ortund@ 4orothea
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1A right is any caim$ indiidua or coectie$ on organi/ed society and its institutions$ een though not a
such caims are uniersay acno-edged (Sen 1999). 6eried from the human right to fourishing are
>human needs@ that can sere as guide+osts to +anning -or$ such as MaB2:eefs matriB of human needs@
that is ased on the four eBistentia categories of eing$ haing$ doing$ and interacting (6ay and Farey &004$
&9240).
&*-o eBce+tions to this generai/ation come to mind Aers (&000) and 3a,er and
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8rgani/ed aor$ neer ery interested in oca +anning issues$ -as further marginai/ed through anti2union
egisation and the ongoing +rocesses of de2industriai/ation.
9For a riiant anaysis of the unresoed tension et-een consensus and +o-er conficts as directions of
+oitica +ractice$ see Mouffe &00%.
10Sandercocs +oitica economy of and deas in Meourne (Austraia) is an eary +recursor to Fainsteinsanaysis (Sandercoc 19"%; 1990).
Ac"nowledgments 5 am dee+y gratefu to eonie Sandercoc$ !ent Fy,erg$ 'atsy
3eaey$ 'eter Marcuse$ Susan Fainstein$ John Forester$ 7aus See$ Serena 7ataoa$ and
seera anonymous critics for their many comments and suggestions to earier ersions of
this essay. As is a-ays the case$ 5 asoe them a of any remaining errors of omission
and commission -hich$ aas$ are ery much my o-n. My sincere thans aso to 7aren
ha++e -ho after a year$ +rodded me to undertae this massie reision of -hat 5 had
originay sumitted.