UU Campus Gotland

Nadia Klepsvik
9th Sept 2021
Planning Theory Seminars 2021

Rational planning: Process of understanding a problem through criteria and formulations of

alternative plans. Setting these plans in motion and monitoring the progress of the chosen
alternatives.

• Central ideas include:

o Generation and evaluation of alternatives
o Step by step process
o Logically sound decisions (scientific and objective)
• Role of planner: Comprehend relationships and guide, control and change
composition
• Public is not involved
• Takes short cuts
o Uses as little resources as possible and not tackling the bigger more trivial issues

System planning: Regulate activity of individuals and groups to minimize bad consequences
and promote better performance/effectiveness towards the specific objectives in the plan.

• Central ideas include:

o Evolution and future change
o Plans should be dynamic and changing
• Role of planner: Concerned with prediction of future
• Public is not involved
• This plan understands the need for dynamic plans to fit with the changing future,
hence, this plan could help the environment greatly by making plans towards tackling
environmental issues or could take short cuts and tackling existing problems that
doesn’t help in the long run.

Strengths of both plans:

• Thorough, competent and fair

• Compliment politics – highlights important elements and choice of public debate
that can then be discussed in a critical way
• Professionals have more knowledge on the situation and can/should provide the best
outcome that benefits everyone

Weaknesses of both plans:

• ‘too infused with narrow, technical rationality and missed out on the more
spontaneous aspects of humanity’
• Planning – social science – lost the importance of place and placemaking, local
knowledge
UU Campus Gotland
Nadia Klepsvik
9th Sept 2021
• Privileges scientific and technical knowledge – quantitative and analytical modes
• Alternatives = experimental, intuitive, not local – based on talking, listening,
seeing, contemplating, sharing, visual, symbolic, ritual, artistic
• Power is the key theme – economic and political relations (who gets what)
• Rationality – smokescreen which masks power relations ‘greater the power, the less
the rationality’
• People promote theories that fit their normative perspectives

Planner roles:

• Activities – demographers, economists, with knowledge, recreation, tourist,

shipbuilding
• Space – architects, engineers, land surveyors, agriculturalists, geographers, geologists
• Communication – transport engineers, air traffic, telecommunication, public transport
• Channels – engineers, architects
• General services – goals, simulation and modelling, evaluation, implementation

Class notes:

• Post-positivism
o Normative and language
o What is the fact? What is reality?
• Discourse – communication
• Structuration – perspective on human behaviour

Marxism: formed by Karl Marx, focuses on the struggle between capitalists and the working
class. Analyses the effect of capitalism on labour, productivity, and economic development
and argues for a worker revolution to overturn capitalism in favour of communism.

• Critical Theory: analyses and critiquing society and culture to reveal power structures
and change society as a whole.
• Marx wrote that the power relationships between capitalists and workers were
inherently exploitative and would inevitably create class conflict.
• He believed that this conflict would ultimately lead to a revolution in which the
working class would overthrow the capitalist class and seize control of the economy.
• As a result of the revolution, Marx predicted that private ownership of the means of
production would be replaced by collective ownership, first under socialism and then
under communism. In the final stage of human development, social classes and class
struggle would no longer exist.
• Cities and planning are reflections of capitalism and at the same time it helped
constitute it.
UU Campus Gotland
Nadia Klepsvik
9th Sept 2021
• An economic system where goods and services were valued, demanded and produced
directly for their use-value as opposed to being produced as a by-product of the
pursuit of profit by business enterprises.
• https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marxism.asp#:~:text=Marx%20wrote%20that
%20the%20power,seize%20control%20of%20the%20economy.
• Strengths:
o System of equality that brings benefits to society
o Helps with capitalism
o Protects rights of unions
o Minimises tendencies of debt
• Weaknesses:
o Abolishes freedom and faith eg. Religion, education
o Does not support private ownership
o Limits opportunity for entrepreneurships
o Leads to communism

Neoliberal planning: restructuring of the relationship between private capital owners and the
state, which rationalises and promotes a growth-first approach to urban development.

• Central ideas include:

o planning as a public institution
o “listening” – populist v principle
• Role of planner: should be in favour of open discussions and public involvement and
not manipulation or control of developers.
o Conflicting values between educators and partly the professional community
influenced by collaborative planning
o And politicians promoting New Public Management
• Should have big ideas towards helping the environment as many scientist and now
powerful companies are stepping up and showing support to help clean/save our
environment.
o Very for the public/future, hence I believe this planning theory will produce the best
outcomes towards helping the environment

Pragmatism: way of dealing with situations focusing on practical solutions.

• Central ideas include:

o Approaches and solutions that are guarantee work in practice
o Rejection of scepticism
• Lacks integrity – ends justify the means
• Role of planner: Concerned with matters of fact and primacy of practice rather than
alternatives and/or creative solutions
• Could have a huge effect on environmental concerns.
UU Campus Gotland
Nadia Klepsvik
9th Sept 2021
o If the problem was regarding the environment and planners are willing to do what is
necessary to help clean up and save our earth. Drastic changes will be made that not
everyone will support, but will have a huge beneficial effect on our environment.
• Strengths:
o Emphasises on actions rather than ideas
o Progressive and optimistic attitude
• Weaknesses:
o Do not want public input or support, pragmatist develop plans based of their own
experiences and values
o Will not try to please the public with compromises or benefits, instead will have no
problem disrupting the peace to solve problems

Advocacy planning: created in in the 1960s by Paul Davidoff and Linda Stone Davidoff, it is
a theory of urban planning. Pluralistic and inclusive seeking to represent the interest of
various groups in society.

• Central ideas include:

o Engaging with the public
o Allow others to present alternative plans
• Role of planner: work with disadvantaged groups to form plans inclusive of their
social and economic needs
o The plans are later examined for pros and cons
• Ideally the public should be very inclusive
o Different levels of confidence, care, time and/or availability in a community – not
all voices are heard
• With many interest groups and alternative plans environmental issues will be brought
up and should be dealt with.
o However, also understanding urban development and NIMBY, not a lot of citizens
want drastic unideal changes and/or large infrastructure to their households and
neighbourhoods

Collaborative planning: interactions with the public to build, develop and implement plans.

• Central ideas include:

o Inclusion of public ideas to develop plans
o Trying to form compromises that suit everyone
• Role of planner:
o Identify potential stakeholders
o Negotiating with and listening to stakeholders
o Formalising agreements between all parties
• Public largely involved.
o Wants to include large and diverse knowledge-based groups in society
o Give voice to stakeholders and hence, minimised court involvement
UU Campus Gotland
Nadia Klepsvik
9th Sept 2021
o Different levels of confidence, care, time and/or availability in a community – not
all voices are heard
• Environmental issues – similar to advocacy NIMBY

Strengths to both plans

• Public voices are heard

o Planners may not always understand the workings of a certain area eg. Erin
brokovich
• More creativity with plans
• Public are more likely to support a plan they are informed about

Weaknesses to both plans

• Ability to reach a successful agreement

• Efficiency in planning process
o Many alternative plans, many voices
o Too much time changing plans to fit everyone’s needs
• Plans may be costly
• May create conflict between different ideas

Class notes:

• How do planners get to know the area?

o When planners plan for an area, the use lots of data to analyse their plans. What
about field work? Instead of listening to many individuals
• Who are the clients of planning?
• Pluralism
o Analysis diagnoses
o Normative position – ideal that needs to be worked on
• How are the power relations between planners and public stakeholders? Leadership
roles?