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This article reviews shortcomings in the synoptic, temporary American planning theory.
or rational comprehensive planning tradition, as A five-part classification of planning traditions
well as in other, countervailing theories that have is discussed under the heuristic rubric of SITAR,
attempted to fill specific deficiencies in the syno- covering the Synoptic, Incremental, Transactive,
ptic tradition. The chief problem of the synoptic Advocacy, and Radical schools of planning
approach appears to be its lopsided application thought. Comparison is made of their relative
due to the difficulties of simultaneously bringing strengths and weaknesses, revealing ways they
to bear other counterpart planning traditions. are often complementary, but often strongly at
Each tradition resists blending with others; each odds. Contradictions among them are not seen to
has its own internally consistent, mutually sus- be deficiencies in the theories themselves, but
taining web of methods, social philosophies, pro- reflections of homologous tensions and
fessional standards, and personal styles. Yet real contradictions in society at large. Parallel
world problems are not so consistent or application of more than one theory is usually
self-contained. Effective solutions require diverse necessary for arriving at valid, three-dimensional
perspectives and multiple levels of action, perspectives on social issues and appropriate
extending beyond the scope of any con- action implications.
For sake of a place to start, planning can be defined groupings, and social philosophies; the nature of
as "foresight in formulating and implementing resistances to parallel or mixed use of diverse
programs and policies.'' The overall purpose of this theories in tandem; and the extent of harmony or
article is to replace this unitary definition by defining basic antagonism among the various traditions, both
more specific categories of planning, some of them in theory and practice.
complementary, and some of them contradictory to a
degree that scarcely permits an umbrella meaning of Bases for a classification scheme
planning.
The first section of the ar ticle presents a simple If planning consists of "foresight in formulating and
classification of planning traditions. The second sec - implementing programs and policies," then planners
tion provides a general set of descriptive criteria for were clearly in evidence 4000 years ago when King
planning theories and practices. No single tradition Hammurabi caused the laws of Babylonia to be
of planning can do everything, and the list of criteria carved on stone. Typical problems of twentieth cen-
serves as a framework to compare the relative tury planning have had their counterparts throughout
strengths the and limitations of different approaches. history, and professionals have been there to solve
The criteria reflect some timeless debates in the field them-in urban design and public works programs; in
of planning: why to plan, and how; for whom, and regulation of coinage and trade; in foreign policy and
by whom. Major issues of this type are briefly military defense; in forecasting the future and
discussed in connection with the criteria proposed. preparing against calamity; in pushing back geo-
The concluding section suggests some implicat-
ions for planning theory, practice, and further empir- The author, formerly with the Urban Planning Program at
ical research: the need for more systematic compar- UCLA, now heads Barclay Hudson & Associates in Santa
ative study of different planning approaches; the rel- Monica, California, specializing in compact policy assessment-the
ative validity of different traditions to different set- application of rapid, intensive procedures for collating data and
tings and problems; the internal cohesiveness of each judgments applied to decision making, proposal evaluation, and
paradigm with regard to methods, professional task force management.
Explanation of Table:
Characteristics are taken from Table 1
indicates major strength or area of concern
O indicates partial or one-sided treatment
blank cells indicate characteristic weaknesses
planner-different analytical methods, varying sub- of social justice. Synoptic rationality also focusses
stantive definitions of problems, different forms of primarily on technical relationships and objective
action to consider. Consequently each of the six cri- realities, to the exclusion of subjective and emotional
teria included in the list presents an arena for debate discussion sparked by divergent perceptions of
on certain classic issues of planning theory and prac - problems being addressed. In addition synoptic plan-
tice. The true meaning of the criteria is that they rep- ning typically creates a division of labor between
resent areas of philosophical choice in which plan- planners (experts) and politicians -a split which casts
ners must turn to one or another planning tradition planners as technicians who can simply ignore
for answers. Each tradition constitutes a body of for- political considerations of the public interest.
gone conclusions about problem definition and prob- The human dimension. Major issue: should planning
lem solutions. Planners can exercise better critical seek to provide a framework of objective decision
judgment about the assumptions they buy into if they rules (e.g., as benefit-cost analysis provides in syn-
consider the possibilities offered by a range of alter- optic planning)? Or should it aim at a more holistic
native candidate theories. A matrix like Table 2 may context for judgment, referring not just to scientific
be simplistic for this purpose but it is a place to start. and technical data but to subjective realities, include-
To give fuller meaning to the six criteria listed in ing political concerns, cultural, aesthetic, psycho-
Tables 1 and 2, it is worth discussing them briefly, logical and ideological considerations, and contro-
with special attention to the kinds of issues that each vertible theories of social, ecological, and historical
one raises. processes? Transactive planning gives special atten-
Theory of the public interest. Definition of the tion to psychosocial and institutional processes
public interest raises a fundamental planning issue: which facilitate growth and mutual learning between
can goals be considered separately from specific the planner and his constituency. Radical planning
options? Synoptic planning responds "yes," most emphasizes the role of human will and ideological
other approaches, "no." Another key issue is: should cohesiveness which gives effective power to
conflicts that arise among groups in connection with technical knowledge. Both radical and transactive
planning be underplayed in favor of seeking a con- planning raise explicit questions about the limit-
sensus? Or should they be focal points for defining ations of social science as an exclusive way of
communities of interest and promoting organized ef- understanding social problems. Both give specific at-
forts to achieve a more ju st distribution of benefits? tention to alternative epistemologies or bases for val-
Radical and advocacy planning are based on conflict idating the uses and limits of knowledge. Both em-
models of the public interest. Transactive and phasize the role of personal knowledge, using con-
incremental planning are based on dialogue and crete experience and direct participation as the point
bargaining among plural interests, although without of departure for problem-solving and social struggle.
an explicit treatment of power. Synoptic planning Feasibility. The world is complicated, but planning
largely ignores or avoids issues of conflict by re- methods need to be simple enough to make
ferring to a unitary concept of the public interest. For understanding manageable. How does one translate
example, the synoptic tradition tends to rely on the complexity into simplicity without falling into the
Pareto optimum to deal with the problem of skewed trap of mistaking the model for reality itself? Indeed
incidence of benefits-a fairly lenient standard planners tend to forget too often that the map is not