The Art of Planning

What is meant by the phrase “The Art of Planning”. The phrase implies that there is a specialized skill involved in and exclusive to the field of planning. In other words, there is something that a planner can do, that someone from a different field could not. To define the phrase is, in a sense, to distinguish it from the fields that contribute to it. Planning involves many aspects from other fields, for example: architecture, economics, law, economics, and environmental sciences. It is due to the eclectic nature of planning that is important to ask the question: what is a planner? Is it just a person who has an eclectic knowledge of other fields? Or is there also a specialized knowledge or expertise possessed by planners that enable them to create planning products? It is perhaps in the integrating or balancing of these various elements of other fields which is key to the Art of Planning.

In Birch’s article Practitioners and the Art of Planning, the evolution of the phrase is explored through literature produced by practitioners of planning from the 1930’s to the new millennium in the United States. These practitioners are those who work in the field and those who teach and research in academia. The article focuses on the “art” of planning but also includes examples of how science aspects have been involved in the practice of planning.

In Birch’s article, three meanings of the term “art” are used to define the phrase “The Art of Planning”. Derived from the term’s dictionary definition, they are design, craft, and presentation. According to Birch, the design aspect of planning ranges from the “physical planning or urban design involved in the arrangement of land and buildings to the creation of visions for ideal communities”. Or in other words, to in vision a desired outcome, whether it be physical or abstract. The craft aspect is described as the techniques or methods used by planners to apply their skill. It involves the knowledge of concepts pertaining to the field, for example: legal or geographic concepts. Lastly, the presentation aspect of planning refers to the personal attributes or skills of planners. So, for example, there ability to oversee a planning process or describe a planning product the public.

Tim Carne.