The Deliberative Practitioner: Encouraging Participatory Planning Processes Book

"This book represents the culmination of a decade's work and succeeds. Forester, perhaps the finest planning theorist in the U.S., uses a variety of case studies to show how his ideas about deliberation shape planning practice. He speaks to the problems and worries of practitioners and students of planning in all types of public settings. This book will likely prove popular as a text in planning schools and appeal to professionals in a variety of allied disciplines." -- Charles J. Hoch, Professor, Urban Planning and Policy Program, University of Illinois at Chicago Citizen participation in such complex issues as the quality of the environment, neighborhood housing, urban design, and economic development often brings with it suspicion of government, anger between stakeholders, and power plays by many--as well as appeals to rational argument. Deliberative planning practice in these contexts takes political vision and pragmatic skill. Working from the accounts of practitioners in urban and rural settings, North and South, John Forester shows how skillful deliberative practices can facilitate practical and timely participatory planning processes. In so doing, he provides a window onto the wider world of democratic governance, participation, and practical decisionmaking. Integrating interpretation and theoretical insight with diverse accounts of practice, Forester draws on political science, law, philosophy, literature, and planning to explore the challenges and possibilities of deliberative practice.Read More