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INTRODUCTION TO URBAN PLANNING & THEORY

INTRODUCTION TO URBAN PLANNING & THEORY . TOPICS. I WHAT IS A THEORY? II PLANNING & SCIENCE III KEY ISSUES IN URBAN PLANNING IV WHAT IS PLANNING? V PLANNING TRADITIONS. WHAT IS A THEORY?. A logical explanation that is accepted until proven wrong or refuted by another one.

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INTRODUCTION TO URBAN PLANNING & THEORY

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  1. INTRODUCTION TO URBAN PLANNING & THEORY

  2. TOPICS I WHAT IS A THEORY? II PLANNING & SCIENCE III KEY ISSUES IN URBAN PLANNING IV WHAT IS PLANNING? V PLANNING TRADITIONS

  3. WHAT IS A THEORY? • A logical explanation that is accepted until proven wrong or refuted by another one. • The above explanation comes from the falsificationism of Karl Popper, who stated that the objective of science is not to prove but to disprove theories

  4. PLANNING& SCIENCE • Thomas Kuhn and the structure of the scientific revolutions points out that scientific inquiry is a process: • Pre-paradigmatic ( searching for a theory) • Normal science (developed a theory & method) • Anomalies emerge • Paradigm shift • Return to normal science

  5. KEY ISSUES IN URBAN PLANNING • Is planning a normal science or pre-paradigmatic scientific discipline? • What is the difference between theory of planning (process) and planning theory (substance)? • Should planning emphasize a positive (cause-effect) or normative (value judgment) analysis? • What is the subject/object of analysis of urban planning?

  6. WHAT IS PLANNING? • Friedmann states that "..all planning must confront the meta-theoretical problem of how to make technical knowledge in planning effective in informing public actions" • In sum, Friedmann defines planning as the component that links knowledge & action. KNOWLEDGE ACTION • Planning is what links technical knowledge and actions in the public domain.

  7. WHAT IS PLANNING? • Campbell & Fainstein (1997:1) state that “What role can planning play in developing the city and region within the constraints of a capitalist political economy and a democratic political system” • Planning cannot be isolated from the political context of the city or region because the policy decisions affect local interests. Thus, planning becomes a practice of what is feasible politically instead of what is technically efficient and effective. • The question of power becomes relevant in the planning process.

  8. WHAT IS PLANNING? K A (Rational Planning) K A (Incremental Planning) K A (Transactive Planning) K P (Activist Planning) P A (Radical Planning)

  9. WHAT IS PLANNING? • Friedmann identifies five important aspects where planning plays a role: • Every planning activity involves a territorial/spatial component • Planning activities respond to a social rationality • Planning facilitates market activities while restricting noxious ones or even substituting the market • Planning in the public domain is political and therefore conflictive • Planning requires massive support and ability to mobilize society in order to be successful

  10. PLANNING TRADITIONS

  11. PLANNING TRADITIONS POLICY ANALYSIS • The fields of policy analysis are system analysis, welfare & social choice, and policy science • Emphasizes the application of scientific knowledge to social issues • Searches for “correct” solutions to social problems becoming “social physics” • The planner becomes a technocrat whose role is to “serve the existing centers of power”

  12. PLANNING TRADITIONS SOCIAL REFORM • This tradition draws from the fields of sociology, institutional economics and pragmatism. • Social reform is concerned with how to reform government to behave in a rational way (efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency). • It is concerned with what is the proper relationship between planning and politics and whose ultimate goal is to institutionalize planning as a governmental function. • The key goal is what government can do to achieve its goals of economic growth and prosperity. • It coincides with public policy in the idea of making planning a scientific endeavor applied to solve social problems.

  13. PLANNING TRADITIONS SOCIAL LEARNING • It is draws from the organization development theory • How society learns to solve its problems • Learning comes through an iterative process of trial and error • The planner becomes a community facilitator, instead of the scientist, whose role is to promote community participation in the search for solutions • Emphasizes a bottom-up approach and attempts to empower communities to solve their own problems. Planning’s gravity center is moved from government and City Hall to the community.

  14. PLANNING TRADITIONS SOCIAL MOBILIZATION • Traces its roots to utopian socialists, radical anarchists, historical materialism, and Neo-marxism • “Planning appears as a form of politics, conducted without the mediation of science” • Planning also moves away from the notion that the state is neutral and attempting to mediate competing interests. • Perceives the state as an instrument of a social class whose sole purpose is to facilitate capital accumulation against the interest of labor.

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