Planning Theory - Planetizen

Front 1

Name the 4 theories of urban development.

Back 1

•Concentric Circle
•Sector
•Multiple Nuclei
•Central Place

Front 2

Describe the Concentric Circle Theory. Who created it and when?

Back 2

Developed by Ernest Burgess was a sociologist who studied the growth of Chicago. He believed that cities grow in a series of outward rings. Land use is based on the distance from the downtown. There were five rings to his theory.
* First ring - central business district, which houses a concentration of governmental, office, and commercial uses.
* Second ring - industrial uses.
* Third ring - zone of transition. This area is a mix of industrial and low-income housing. At one time this ring had high-income, large houses.
* Fourth ring - zone of independent workingmen's homes
* Fifth - high-class residential. Burgess in 1925.

Front 3

Describe the Sector Theory.

Back 3

Sector Theory was developed by Homer Hoyt in 1939. Hoyt was in the real estate business in Chicago and was interested in high-end residential development. Hoyt disagreed with Burgess' conception of city growth. He argued that land uses vary based on transportation routes. The city, as a result, was a series of sectors radiating out from the center of the city.

Front 4

Describe the Multiple Nuclei Theory.

Back 4

Multiple Nuclei Theory was developed by Harris and Ullman in 1945. They argued that cities develop a series of specific land use nuclei. A land use nucleus is formed because of accessibility to natural resources, clustering of similar uses, land prices, and the repelling power of land uses.

Front 5

Describe the Central Place Theory.

Back 5

Central Place Theory was developed by Walter Christaller in 1933. This theory explains the size and spacing of cities. The theory states that there is a minimum market threshold to bring a firm to a city and there is a maximum range of people who are willing to travel to receive goods and services

Front 6

Name the 7 theories of Planning Practice.

Back 6

•Rational
•Incremental
•Mixed Scanning
•Advocacy
•Transactive
•Radical
•Communicative

Front 7

Explain the basics of Rational Planning.

Back 7

The rational model closely matches the scientific method and includes the following steps:
•Set Goals
•Determine Alternatives
•Evaluate the Alternatives
•Choose an Alternative
•Implement the Alternative
•Evaluate

Based on the idea of the "Rational man." Rational planning can only work when the problem can be easily defined and there can be a best solution. Rational planning was the dominant planning theory through the 1950s, but is still used in Transportation Planning.

Front 8

Explain the basics of Incremental Planning.

Back 8

In 1959, Charles Lindblom published the article "The Science of Muddling Through", which first introduces the concept of incrementalism. Lindblom argues that people make their plans and decisions in an incremental manner. He argues that people accomplish goals through a series of successive, limited comparisons. One of the major points is that problems are solved through a series of policies at different points in time, rather than all at once. The planning process is focused on solving existing problems rather than on achieving a future desired state.

Front 9

Explain the basics of Mixed Scanning Theory.

Back 9

Amitai Etzioni introduced the concept of mixed scanning as a compromise between the rational and incremental planning theories. Mixed scanning views planning decisions at two levels: the big picture and the small picture. Etzioni argues that fundamental policy-shaping decisions should be based on a more careful rational analysis of alternatives. Implementation decisions should use an incremental approach. Mixed scanning assumes that there is a centralized decision-making process. As with the rational and incremental approaches, it does not identify who is involved in the process or whose values are used.

Front 10

Explain the basics of Advocacy Planning Theory.

Back 10

Advocacy Planning was developed in the 1960s by Paul Davidoff as a way to represent the interests of groups within a community. Davidoff believed that planners should work to create plans that represent the various interests groups. This would result in plural plans for public consideration.

Norman Krumholz adopted equity planning in Cleveland, during the 1970s and, as a result, helped make the needs of its low-income groups the highest priority. Krumholz's view on equity planning is that planners should work to redistribute power, resources, or participation away from the elite and toward the poor and working-class residents of the community.

Front 11

Explain the basics of Transactive Planning Theory.

Back 11

In 1973, John Friedmann published a book titled Retracking America: A Theory of Transactive Planning. While Advocacy Planning focused on working with specific groups in a community, the planner still serves as the technical expert that determines the alternatives. Transactive planning theory was developed in the 1970s as a way to get the public involved in the planning process.

There are a number of criticisms of transactive planning. The first is that it takes a large amount of time to meet with individuals and utilize the mutual learning process. Second, how do you evaluate the importance of each person's community knowledge? Third, transactive planning cannot work in situations in which there are large differences in opinion and/or many stakeholders.

Front 12

Explain the basics of Radical Planning Theory.

Back 12

In 1987, John Friedmann published a book titled Planning in the Public Domain: From Knowledge to Action. In it he discusses the concept of radical planning.

Radical planning takes the power away from the government and gives it to the people. In this process, citizens get together and develop their own plans.

While radical planning cannot be fully implemented, there are examples of the partial use of radical planning. Some public housing authorities have turned management decisions over to the tenants, who are responsible for proposing change in policy. This allows increased control by the people who live in public housing

Front 13

Explain the basics of Communicative Planning Theory.

Back 13

Communicative planning is currently the theory of choice among planning practitioners. Planners around the nation have moved towards more open planning that includes a much more intensive citizen participation process. This theory recognizes that planning operates within the realm of politics, and that it contains a variety of stakeholder interests. The communicative approach tries to use a rational model as a basis for bringing mutual understanding among all stakeholders. Planners can provide the stakeholders with information and bring people together to discuss the issues.