Planning and the Paradigm shift

It is interesting to consider whether or not urban planning has experienced Thomas Kuhn’s notion of a paradigm shift in one form or another. There has undoubtedly been a consistent level of evolution within the role and practice of urban planners, as a reflection over the last 100 years of urban planning history would surely attest to.

Originally, the role of an urban planner was not unlike that of an architect, albeit on a much larger scale. The responsibilities and required knowledge base grew exponentially with the community rise and strive for social equity and equalities of the post world war II era which loaned itself to a re-birthing of the planners role. No longer was a planners focus centred solely on design and form, instead a social dimension would now begin to take precedence raising an important question; how do we plan for social equality? The answers to this question are severely limited when utilising a limited set of tools, thus the planner is required to branch out and encompass the methodologies of new fields of knowledge. It is here when the planners role changes from that of a designer, and incorporates social science leading to the role of an analyst, bringing a scientific element to the field. However, social problems were approached under the premise that society operated like a machine, somewhat devoid of an underlying human element. Years of formulated, stagnant planning witnessed the frustration amongst communities develop in to the demand for input in to the planning decisions being made for them.

Grassroots movements saw some planning input given to the community which reversed the traditional top down approaches. With now so many stakeholders having the opportunity to provide feedback and suggestions in to a planning project, the planner has again changed their role to that of a facilitator. The mediation between government interests, private companies, community members and other stakeholders has created many new theories in regards to how planning is to progress.

I would say there has been a paradigm shift in the role of a planner, most notably the change from a designer to something more. The incorporation of social aspects has re envisioned the profession and moved it from the realms of design in to the philosophical. Understanding how people work and interact has become a fundamental desire of the planner as they strive to create a successful human environment. Obviously there is still much that is not known and as such, I believe the future holds many exciting opportunities for the planning profession and society in which it serves.