Planning for the Common Good

This book argues that the common good should be understood as something 'in here' that is shaped through engagement with the complexities of a context and the moral dimensions of the life in which one is inevitably embedded. It brings into conversation a series of thinkers not normally mobilized in planning theory, including Paul Ricoeur, Alasdair MacIntyre and Charles Taylor, to explore how the values carried by the planner are shaped through their relationships with others and their relationship with the 'tradition of planning'. It provides a new perspective on how we can come to better understand what planning entails and how it relates to the concept of the common good, making an original contribution to planning theory.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 140 pages
Publication date: 31 December 2021
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Appeals to the 'common good' or 'public interest' have long been used to justify planning as an activity. While often criticized, these appeals endure in spirit if not in name as practitioners and theorists seek ways to ensure that planning operates as an ethically attuned pursuit. However, this leaves us with the unavoidable question of how an ethically sensitive 'common good' should be understood. In response, this book proposes that the common good should not be conceived as something pre-existing and 'out there to be identified and applied or something simply produced through the correct configuration of democracy. Instead, it is contended that the common good must be perceived as something 'in here, which is known by engagement with the complexities of a context through employing the interpretive tools supplied to one by the moral dimensions of the life in which one is inevitably embedded.

This book brings into conversation a series of thinkers not normally mobilized in planning theory, including Paul Ricoeur, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Charles Taylor. These thinkers shine light on how the values carried by the planner are shaped through both their relationships with others and their relationship with the 'tradition of planning' - a tradition it is argued that extends as a form of reflective deliberation across time and space. It is contended that the mutually constitutive relationship that gives planning its raison d'être and the common good its meaning are conceived through a narrative understanding extending through time that contours the moral subject of planning as it simultaneously profiles the ethical orientation of the discipline.

This book provides a new perspective on how we can come to better understand what planning entails and how this dialectically relates to the broader social, political, and economic context in which it operates. By exploring the moral dimensions of planning and the relationships between planners and their stakeholders, this book offers a valuable contribution to the ongoing debate about the role of planning in shaping the future of our societies.

In conclusion, this book provides a fresh and insightful perspective on the concept of the 'common good' in planning. By challenging traditional notions of what the common good is and how it can be achieved, it offers a valuable contribution to the ongoing debate about the role of planning in shaping the future of our societies. By engaging with the complexities of a context through employing the interpretive tools supplied to one by the moral dimensions of the life in which one is inevitably embedded, this book proposes that the common good must be perceived as something 'in here, which is known by engagement with the complexities of a context through employing the interpretive tools supplied to one by the moral dimensions of the life in which one is inevitably embedded.

Weight: 236g
Dimension: 251 x 236 x 15 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367726034