Losing It's Religion

Abstract

This paper makes the claim that planning is fueled by the same optimistic faith in human reason as the modern sciences generally. At times, this faith takes on the contours of a religion. The excesses of urban renewal projects challenged the core of this faith, however, serving as planning’s reformation. Planning remains heavily indebted to its central tenets. Science remains the lodestar, but this is placed in dynamic tension with an effort at making decisions that comport with the public interest, which is difficult if not impossible to measure via the tools of science. As a result, planning remains animated by a progressivism that resembles faith, but one that is thoroughly demystified.