How Real-World Work, Advocacy, and Political Economy Strengthen Planning Research and Practice

Ann Roell Markusen

Journal of the American Planning Association, 2015, vol. 81, issue 2, 143-152

Abstract: From an academic career in economic development planning, the author reflects on values, research styles, and connections to real-world planning and how these translate into change on the ground. Markusen argues that both an evolving normative framework (equity, diversity, democracy, efficiency, stability) and the tools of political economy have helped planners "create good work." She credits the inclusion, from the 1950s on, of social scientists and other professionals such as lawyers and feminists into the planning academy for producing a vigorous interdisciplinary field. She demonstrates that choosing to focus your research on what bothers you most about planning thought and practice often results in powerful and widely read results and cites cases where advocacy research and outreach, including writing for multiple audiences, has produced positive change. Markusen ends with a reflection on the gifts of colleagueship.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1080/01944363.2015.1040053

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