PLANNING &

PLANNING THEORY
“Planning is the process of preparing a set of
decisions for action in the future, directed at
achieving goals by preferable means” (Dror,
cited in Faludi (1974)).

Planning can be a simple subconscious task or

an extremely complex conscious process
requiring the input of several people.

In whatever form it is a process that affects

everyone, everyday, in someway or another.
 ask ourselves:
why plan in the first place? Why Plan?

Imagine a world without any form of

planning; the more one tries to imagine
what this would be like the more relevant
and important it appears to be.

Without planning in all of its contexts,

the world would be in a chaotic state of
disorganisation
planning is described as a general activity
based on forethought that underlies all
human action and is also described as a
specific, professional or institutional process
or procedure.
planning theory is typically separated into
theories of, in, and for planning.
planning acts as a link between:

knowledge and action

mental and biophysical domains,
individual and collective systems,
collective and individual systems,
past and future, and
can do and should do.
The link between knowledge and action parallels the link
between pattern of organization and structure.

In poietic systems, this represents a process of

production.

Recognition of this parallel raises the question:

what forms the other part of the production process?

The link between mental and biophysical domains

parallels the notion of structural coupling –
between psychological, social, and natural systems and
their respective contexts.
 The reciprocal links between individual and collective
reflect the paradox of interdependence described above.
The link between past and future draws attention to the
notion of recursivity, the importance of history, and the
implications of future causality.

Finally, the link between 'can do' and 'should do' relates
to value implications This particular link emphasizes the
normative aspect of planning