Explorations in Planning Theory / Edition 1

From the Publisher

“All of these essays address planning theory and are aimed primarily at academics or practitioners who wish to reflect on approaches to the practice of planning… The book originated as a conference publication… [and] while the book may suffer from the somewhat disjointed feel of a conference, it nonetheless gives the reader a good sense of the current concerns of planning theorists—what sparks their interest and what areas of the field are promising for further development… [T]his book demonstrates that there is much to be gained when planning theorists take on the questions of representation, discourse, and power.”

—Katherine T. Jones, Annals of the Association of American Geographers

“In the English-speaking world, ‘planning theory’ over the past decade has come to be dominated by a new way of understanding planning which , broadly, views town planning as a ‘communicative practice’… Mandelbaum, Mazza and Burchell’s Explorations in Planning Theory brings together a set of readings which, overall, give expression to this latest ‘paradigm’ of planning thought… One of the things which refreshes this book, and makes it a good volume from which to choose readings which introduce students to debates about planning theory is the fact that it includes contributions from theorists still wedded to the ‘rationalist’ tradition of planning thought.”

—Nigel Taylor, Urban Studies

“This is a big book, with twenty-four chapters, written originally for two planning conferences, by academics from three continents. It is organized into six sections, each beginning with a critical overview by one of the editors, followed by three or four essays (almost all of which include a balanced discussion of academic approach and detailed planning practice), and concluding with a critical and engaging commentary from a reviewer selected by the editors. This consistently lively and balanced order makes each section worth reading… [It] embod[ies] well the pragmatice and processal, albeit somewhat narrowed, sociopolitical focus of contemporary planning. It should emerge as a signature collection for the “communicative practice” school.”

—David C. Perry, Journal of the American Planning Association

“Over the years a somewhat uneasy relationship has existed between planning theory and the rest of the discipline… [A]s planning emerges from a period of challenge to its legitimacy there seems to be growing curiosity as to what theorists can contribute to the development of the discipline… The editors of Explorations in Planning Theory argue in the preface that while the volume is written in the language of the planning theory community they, “… are confident that students, experience practitioners, and friends of city and regional planning, wherever they are, will find that these essays illuminate their various enterprises and help them (in John Forester’s phrase) ‘when they are stuck’”.”

—Heather Campbell, International Planning Studies

"[S]hould see wide use and stimulate further discourse among planning theorists and educators."

—L. Dalton, Journal of Planning Education and Research

"Particularly useful in tracing and documenting recent discussions of communicative action and practice in planning theory.... Useful in tracing and documenting discussions of communicative action and practice in planning theory... [O]ffers a wide variety of approaches to linking theory and practice."

—Journal of Planning Education and Research