The field of urban planning is far-reaching in breadth and depth. This is due to the complex nature of cities, regions, and development processes. The knowledge domain of planning includes social, economic, technological, environmental, and political systems that continue to evolve and expand rapidly. Understanding these systems is an inter-disciplinary endeavor at the scale of several academic fields. The wide range of topics considered by planning educators and practitioners are often based on varying definitions of "planning" and modes of planning practice. This unique book discusses various elements and contributions to urban planning research to show that seemingly disparate topics do in fact intersect and together, contribute to ways of understanding urban planning. The objective is not to discuss how to "do" research, but rather, to explore the context of urban planning scholarship with implications for the planning academy and planning practice.
This edited volume includes chapters contributed by a diverse range of planning scholars who consider the corpus of planning scholarship both historically and critically in their area of expertise. It is essential reading for students of planning research and planning theory from around the world.
Introduction: Planning Knowledge and Research
Thomas Sanchez
Part I
How Theory Links Research and Practice: 70 Years' Planning Theory: A Critical Review
Ernest Alexander
Mapping the Knowledge Domain of Urban Planning
Thomas W. Sanchez and Nader Afzalan
Planning Research in the Service of Planning Practice: Process and Implementation
Carolyn G. Loh
Striving for Impact Beyond the Academy? Planning Research in Australia
Paul Burton
Part II
Planning Culture: Research Heuristics and Explanatory Value
Karsten Zimmermann, Robin Chang, and Andreas Putlitz
The Relationship of Green Places and Urban Society: Understanding the Evolution and Integration of City Planning with the Ecological Sciences
Charles Hostovsky
Evolution in Land Use and Transportation Research
Dea van Lierop, Geneviève Boisjoly, Emily Grise, and Ahmed El-Geneidy
Monitoring Sustainability Culture: An Overview of a Multi-Year Program of Evaluation Research at the University of Michigan
Robert W. Marans and John Callewaert
Part III
Towards an Object-Oriented Case Methodology for Planners
Robert Beauregard and Laura Lieto
Urban Morphology as a Research Method
Brenda Case Scheer
The Unwarranted Boundaries between Urban Planning and Design in Theory, Practice and Research
Davide Ponzini
Part IV
Use of Planning Magazine to Bridge the Gap Between Researchers and Practitioners
Kathryn Terzano and Reid Ewing
Planning from the Inside Out: Using GIS Technology & Citizen Science Post-Disaster in New Orleans
Michelle M. Thompson
Planning Our Future Cities: The Role Computer Technologies Can Play
Robert Goodspeed, Peter Pelzer, and Chris Pettit
Science in Planning: Theory, Methods and Models
Michael Batty
Postscript
Tom Sanchez
Appendices
Biography
Thomas W. Sanchez earned his PhD in City Planning from Georgia Tech in 1996 and has since taught at Iowa State University, Portland State University, and the University of Utah. He is currently chair and professor of Urban Affairs and Planning at Virginia Tech. Sanchez conducts research in the areas of transport equity, environmental justice, technology, and scholarly impact. He currently serves as the editor-in-chief of Housing Policy Debate, a leading journal on housing and community development policy. In 2012 he co-authored, Planning as if People Matter: Governing for Social Equity with Marc Brenman. In 2007 they co-authored The Right to Transportation: Moving to Equity. Also in 2007 he co-authored The Social Impacts of Urban Containment with Arthur C. Nelson and Casey Dawkins.