UNIT 5: ADVOCACY, RADICAL & TRANSACTIVE PLANNING THEORIES

ADVOCACY PLANNING THEORY Background/History of Advocacy in Planning: Failure of rational-comprehensive and incremental planning approaches to deal with poverty and exclusion Growing power and ‘arrogance’ of Planners 4/16/2017 ADVOCACY, RADICAL & TRANSACTIVE PLANNING

ADVOCACY PLANNING THEORY Background/History of Advocacy in Planning: A statement by a planner in the Newcastle Council Planning Department: “You’ve got to have a touch of arrogance to be a planner—and the basic confidence to know that you’re right even when you’re wrong, and the present City Planning Officer is such a man”, (Davies, 1972, cited Allmendinger, 2002, p. 136) Search for a New Approach 4/16/2017 ADVOCACY, RADICAL & TRANSACTIVE PLANNING

ADVOCACY PLANNING THEORY Meaning and Origin of ‘Advocacy Planning’: What do you understand by ‘Advocacy Planning’? Advocacy Planning emerged as another alternative to RCPM Its main Proponents: Paul Davidoff (1965) in his famous article, “Advocacy and Pluralism in Planning" 4/16/2017 ADVOCACY, RADICAL & TRANSACTIVE PLANNING

ADVOCACY PLANNING THEORY Main features of ‘Advocacy Planning’: Provision of ‘Planning Services’ to low-income and minority neighbourhoods Akin to legal services provided by a lawyer Advocate Planners to be hired by neighbourhoods themselves or the city government 4/16/2017 ADVOCACY, RADICAL & TRANSACTIVE PLANNING

ADVOCACY PLANNING THEORY Main features of ‘Advocacy Planning’: ‘Public interest’ determined through debate or consensus building among the Advocate Planners Several plans prepared by and debated among various the advocates 4/16/2017 ADVOCACY, RADICAL & TRANSACTIVE PLANNING

ADVOCACY PLANNING THEORY Criticisms Too tasking and difficult for the planners involved Advocate Planners are demographically different from their ‘clients’ Raises expectations among the poor that cannot be met It further weakens the political influence of the poor 4/16/2017 ADVOCACY, RADICAL & TRANSACTIVE PLANNING

RADICAL PLANNING THEORY Meaning and Characteristics Based on Marxist critique of RCPM: RCPM separates doing planning from the socio-economic and political environment within which planning takes place City or regional planning in the rational mode seen by Radicals as an instrument of Western capitalism 4/16/2017 ADVOCACY, RADICAL & TRANSACTIVE PLANNING

RADICAL PLANNING THEORY Meaning and Characteristics Radicals call for a more progressive approach to planning, following not-satisfactory-enough outcomes of Advocacy Planning experiments Call for decentralization, ecological attentiveness and spontaneous activism guided by a vision of self-reliance and mutual aid Radical planning emphasizes the importance of personal growth, cooperative spirit, and freedom from manipulation by anonymous forces 4/16/2017 ADVOCACY, RADICAL & TRANSACTIVE PLANNING

RADICAL PLANNING THEORY Meaning and Characteristics It calls for structural changes to promote equality, participation and legitimacy in planning Proponents: Based on several Marxist writings, e.g. Stephen Grabow and Alan Heskin's (1973) Critique Radical planning is an ambiguous tradition; no clear road map for doing planning 4/16/2017 ADVOCACY, RADICAL & TRANSACTIVE PLANNING

TRANSACTIVE PLANNING THEORY Meaning and Characteristics: Main proponent: John Friedmann (1973) Rejects planning approaches that view people/ communities as ‘anonymous target beneficiaries’ Focuses on face-to-face contacts between planners and those affected More emphasis on collaboration, participation, dialogue and mutual learning than surveys and analyses Characterized by decentralized planning and institutions that enable people to have greater control over social processes 4/16/2017 ADVOCACY, RADICAL & TRANSACTIVE PLANNING

TRANSACTIVE PLANNING THEORY Meaning and Characteristics: Planner seen more as a Facilitator or Communicator and less as a Technician Effectiveness of Planning measured not merely in terms of what it does for people but also in terms of its effects on people 4/16/2017 ADVOCACY, RADICAL & TRANSACTIVE PLANNING

TRANSACTIVE PLANNING THEORY Critique Those who can dialogue well are likely to manipulate others i.e. the outcome (the plan) may not reflect real collective decision-making 4/16/2017 ADVOCACY, RADICAL & TRANSACTIVE PLANNING