Readings in Planning Theory

The third edition of Readings in Planning Theory features thirteen new readings that define current debates and presents the works that constitute the main focus of the field, addressing the central issues that face planners as theorists and practitioners.

• Expands the focus on international planning by including globalization and theories of development
• Includes new readings that examine themes emerging in planning theory, including a critique of the modernist roots of centralized planning, a re-emphasis on space in planning, and a discussion of the difficulty of sustainable development
• Features new case studies of planning success and failure on both sides of the Atlantic
• Addresses the range of core planning theory so as to remain the primary text in urban planning courses
• Examines the current state of planning theory and the new directions it has taken in recent years
• Draws on a wide range of authors who address planning history, arguments for and against planning, competing planning styles, planning ethics, the public interest, and considerations of race and gender

The Third Edition of the highly successful Readings in Planning Theory continues its well established role in defining the most current debates within the field of planning theory - identifying its boundaries, presenting the works that constitute its central focus, and addressing the central issues that face planners as theorists and practitioners. While maintaining an emphasis on developing an understanding of the process and substance of planning within real world constraints, readings in the new edition reflect many of the developments and rapidly changing dynamics of today's globalized world. Chapter updates and the addition of some 13 new readings place an emphasis on emergent themes in planning theory, including changing approaches to modernism, urbanism, communicative action, power, inequality, and justice in the city. A major new section is devoted to planning in a globalized world, with readings addressing the impact of theories of globalization and of theories of development on planning theory. Essays continue to address the role of planning in developing the 'good' city and region within the constraints of a capitalist political economy and a democratic political system, while seeking explanations and guides to planning practice based on analyses of the political economies of the U.S., U.K., and other nations. Building on its established success and well earned reputation, the 3rd Edition of Readings in Planning Theory is certain to emerge as the definitive work in this increasingly important field.

Scott Campbell is an Associate Professor of Urban Planning and Doctoral Program Director in the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan. He is a co-author of The Rise of the Gunbelt: The Military Remapping of Industrial America. His article on sustainable development won an award for best article of the year from the Journal of the American Planning Association.

Susan S. Fainstein is a Professor in the Urban Planning Program at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Her books include The Just City (2010), The City Builders (second edition, 2001), and Restructuring the City (1986). Fainstein is also a recipient of the Distinguished Educator Award of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) for lifetime career achievement.