The course gives a broad introduction to planning theory and different ways of thinking about planning. It opens up questions of the societal roles of planning, the relations between planning and politics, whom planning is thought to be for and what can be considered as ‘good’ planning. These are all questions of relevance for how one can understand the planning profession, the role of planning professionals, the craftsmanship of planning and planning ethics in the light of various theories.

The course covers leading planning thinkers and different schools of thought with a focus on planning ideas shaped in Western democracies. The course follows the trajectory of planning ideas through history with an emphasis on planning ideas and key debates of relevance today as the course attempts to integrate the spectrum of past and contemporary planning theories.

Knowledge / comprehension

• Identify and outline what the field of planning theory entails
• Recognize the different schools of thought of planning and their historical origins
• Identify of the rationales behind different theories of planning  
• Explain how the planning profession and its challenges can be viewed differently

 Application / analysis

• Assign a role to planning theory in relation to planning practices
• Become theoretically aware and reflective on the professional values and goals that give purpose to planning work.
• Analyze and evaluate core values, benefits and drawbacks of different planning theories

Synthesis / evaluation​

• Articulate cogent and persuasive arguments concerning how and why different theories of planning are relevant to planning practices
• Elucidate your own ethical position on contemporary issues affecting the planning profession and confronting planners
• Assess the character of ethical dilemmas that planning professionals and researchers may encounter when carrying out their professions.

The learning activities are organised through focused thematic seminars and smaller assignments in preparation for these. The assignments will be both individual and group based. Discussion groups will be formed for processing the theory and developing the assignments. The timetable for these activities is provided at the start of the course.

The workload of the course will be fairly evenly distributed over the run of the course to allow for the successive digestion and processing of the content.

250 hours allocated for lectures, seminars, required reading, written course papers and discussions.

The planning theories are presented through lectures. These will be discussed in groups  and it is expected that the students actively participate in the discussions.