1st Edition

Interdisciplinary Planning

By Kan Chen Copyright 1986
    237 Pages
    by Routledge

    238 Pages
    by Routledge

    Critiques of traditional urban planning are numerous. The debate about direction within the profession and why urban planning seems to be in a state of despair continues. However, and as Milan J. Dluhy and Kan Chen note, the more critical issue is the future direction of planning, particularly interdisciplinary planning. In this regard, they note five principal areas of concern: planning is action research, planning is knowledge driven, planning is both process and technologically oriented, planning is interdisciplinary, and planning is adaptive to emerging concerns.Reviewing the literature and empirical studies on roles and attitudes, the editors note that planners seem committed to symbols and expressions of advocacy as well as traditional planning doctrine. This emphasizes rational planning and neutral policy roles for practitioners. Without a guiding theory to give a unified approach to practice, planners remain free to select the role most compatible with their personal background and training. This volume asserts that diversity need not be a drawback as long as careful analysis and open planning processes are used.This title will be an invaluable resource. Part I illustrates the critical dilemmas in planning, Part II focuses on planning skills and orientations, the third part focuses sharply on planning roles, while the final section answers a fundamental question: can interdisciplinary planning offer a more useful perspective than others on how to achieve more successful planning outcomes?

    I: Dilemmas in Planning; 1: Planning Theory and Planning Practice: Roles and Attitudes of Planners; II: Planning Skills and Orientations; 2: How Rational Can Planning Be: Toward an Information Processing Model of Planning; 3: Rational Processes for Environmental Planning; 4: Technology Planning in Industry: The Classical Approach; 5: Clarifying Complex Public Policy Issues: A Social Decision Analysis Contribution; III: Planning Roles; 6: Steering the Path Between Ambiguity and Overload: Planning as Strategic Social Process; 7: Planning, Public Budgeting, and Politics: Maximizing the Impact of Advice Giving; 8: Building Citizen Support for Planning at the Community Level; IV: Interdisciplinary Planning; 9: The Structural Approach to Planning and Policy Making; 10: Technological Planning in Industry: Increasing Emphasis on Human Resource Considerations; 11: Shifting Demands on Interdisciplinary Planning: An Educational Response

    Biography

    Kan Chen