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An Introduction to Planning Theories With Special Reference to Urban

Planning Theories

Book · January 2015

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Zohreh A. Daneshpour
Shahid Beheshti University (SBU), Tehran, Iran
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 An Introduction to Planning Theories
With Special Reference to Urban
Planning Theories
Author: Zohreh A. Daneshpour, PhD (Liverpool University, Great Britain).
Professor, Urban and Regional Planning Department, Faculty of Architecture and
Urban Planning, SBU (Sh. Beheshti University), Tehran, Iran.
Publisher: SBU (Sh. Beheshti University) Publishing: Tehran, Iran.
First edition: 2008, Second edition : 2011
E-mails: z_danesh@sbu.ac.ir, z.a.daneshpour@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
Planning – and especially urban and regional planning – is originally a
discipline which in spite of the importance of its epistemological and
theoretical basis, practice and action has always kept its dominancy. Theory
has continuously been affected by the theoretical achievements in related
academic disciplines. And, similar to the formation and evolution of planning
practice – with members from different professional backgrounds – planning
theory, with its eclectical combination of concepts from varying disciplines,
has been developed. There is no unitary and universally acknowledged
definition of planning theory and there is no consensus about its inclusive

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elements. The existing portrait of planning theory can be considered to be a
reflection of successive and dominant images.
Planning action is done through differing actors that planning – directly or
indirectly – is included in their agenda. Due to a set of factors which – from
one hand – are related to the general definition of planning in each society and
also to the multiplicity of institutions in which planning – as a public activity –
is done, and on the other side to the instability that the theoretical and
experimental developments that planning has faced during the second part of
the 20th century, there is not adequate consensus about such areas as the
definition, characters, circumstances and categorisation of planning theory
amongst its theoreticians and specialists. This means that not only there is no
explicit articulation of epistemological and theoretical basis of planning and no
such concurrence.
As a result of existing ambiguities in planning research, dealing with planning
theories and approaches – not only in their epistemological position, but also
compliant with the "planning action" – and the necessities of a transparent and
all-encompassing categorisation of planning theories has always been
indispensable. Research about the planning theory to guide planning action,
thus has to consider the differences in the theory and action of planning
between different geographical levels, between the less and the more developed
societies and also between the capitalist and non-capitalist countries. The
differing aspects of civil society and state and their impact upon the theory and
action of planning in different socio-economic systems, must also be
considered. Within the domain of planning, whether concerned with different
subject areas or different geographical levels, ‘knowledge’ and ‘action’ rest on
a dialectical interaction. Accordingly any attempt at investigating "planning
theory" must not only be based on the search for the role of "planning action"
as against ‘knowledge’, but should also answer the questions concerning the
foundations of theories, approaches, actions and activities of planning.
Presenting a general definition of planning is an intricate task. Nonetheless, the
aim of this book is to categorise and delineate the theories and approaches as
they exist in the realm of planning as a broad concept and urban planning or
what is also termed urban spatial planning as a specific concept: considering
the fact that urban and regional planning is a specific form of planning within
its broad meaning. Consequently in this book the intention has not been to offer
new planning theories and approaches. Instead, this book intends to review the
theories and approaches of planning and urban planning as have been put
forward by the planning theorist during time and have been applied by planning
practitioners, stakeholders and authorities in different societies.
In the first section of this book an attempt has been made to express the roots of
its formation, evolution and development processes of planning and planning
theory. In the second section of this book, the epistemological basis of planning
has been reviewed. To this end, first the impact of "epistemology" (theory of
knowledge) upon "theory", and "theory" upon "action" and then the
epistemological basis of planning have been studied. In the third section of the
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 book –as the theories and approaches of planning has not been classified and
introduced uniformly – a three-tiered all-embracing categorisation aiming at
differentiating urban planning theories from urban planning approaches is
proposed. This categorisation starts with, first, the orthodox theories and
approaches which have been accepted as a representation and as a framework
for planning action in different societies. The second category involves radical
theories and the third concerns notions, conceptions and ideas put forward in
planning since the early 1990’s, such as post-positivism, post-modernism, neo-
pragmatism and environmental planning.
What has been taken to mean from the review of vast literature on planning
theories and approaches and the above mentioned categorisation of planning
theories and approaches, is that planning theorisation with all its inherent
epistemological and theoretical eclecticism and confusions has not yet reached
its ultimate destination. The sporadic and disintegrated efforts have not so far
been successful and able enough to prevail over all the existing insufficiencies.
In spite of all these, this book intended to reduce part of the uncertainties in
order to be able to enhance the understanding of the theoretical and
experimental or practical position of planning and urban planning.

Keywords: planning epistemology, planning theory, urban planning, urban

planning approaches, planning practice

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