Readings in Planning Theory - Paperback

by Susan S. Fainstein (Editor), James Defilippis (Editor)

Featuring updates and revisions to reflect rapid changes in an increasingly globalized world, Readings in Planning Theory remains the definitive resource for the latest theoretical and practical debates within the field of planning theory.

• Represents the newest edition of the leading text in planning theory that brings together the essential classic and cutting-edge readings
• Features 20 completely new readings (out of 28 total) for the fourth edition
• Introduces and defines key debates in planning theory with editorial materials and readings selected both for their accessibility and importance
• Systematically captures the breadth and diversity of planning theory and puts issues into wider social and political contexts without assuming prior knowledge of the field

Back Jacket

"This fourth edition is the best-available compendium and analysis of planning theory. Remarkably, the editors manage to retain many of the foundational readings while also producing a volume that is overwhelmingly grounded in new scholarship. This expands the canon to show how theory can be inspired and produced by practitioners and scholars engaged with far more than the United States and Europe."
--Lawrence J. Vale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Already the recipient of widespread acclaim in academic circles, this new edition of Readings in Planning Theory further enhances its reputation as the definitive resource for the latest theoretical and practical debates within the field of planning theory.

Overall, readings continue to address an enduring question posed by planning theory: What role can planning play in developing the good city and region within the constraints of a capitalist global economy and varying political systems? Featuring numerous updates and revisions that reflect the rapidly changing dynamics of an increasingly globalized world, readings (two thirds of which are new to this edition) offer innovative approaches to existing topics, along with ground-breaking insights into zoning, economic development, links between planning theory and practice, and more. A section on the developing world is new to this edition as are several case studies aimed at showing the theoretical issues underlying planning in practice. The general introduction and part introductions by the editors provide a framework for understanding the readings.

Readings in Planning Theory, Fourth Edition, offers invaluable guidance and insights into myriad issues faced by planners as theorists and practitioners in the opening decades of the new millennium.

Author Biography

SUSAN S. FAINSTEIN is Senior Research Fellow and former professor in the Urban Planning Program at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Her books include The Just City (2010), The City Builders (2nd Ed, 2001), and Restructuring the City (1986). Fainstein is also the recipient of the Distinguished Educator Award of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) for lifetime career achievement.

JAMES DEFILIPPIS is Associate Professor in the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. His work focuses on the politics and economics of cities and communities, and he is particularly interested in social change, power, and justice in cities. His books include the award-winning Unmaking Goliath: Community Control in the Face of Global Capital (2004).