Aims

•to critically discuss ethics and their relation to planning practice;
to review ideas about responsibility, professional duty and professionalism, with particular regard to planning;
to critically review the ways in which planners contribute their knowledge, skills and values in different contexts;
to critically review the organizational contexts in which planning is practised.

Outline Of Syllabus

Introduction
Personal introductions
What is Twenty-First Century Town Planning?
What is reflexive practice and why does it matter?

Roles
Just what does a planner do all day and how has this changed?
Public, private and voluntary work settings explored

Clients
Who and what are planners working for?

Ethics
What should planning’s outcomes be?
Consequentialist, deontological and virtue ethics: what schools of thought can help guide planners’ actions?

Power, Corruption and Lies
How prevalent is corruption in planning?
Exploring power differentials in planning and planning’s ‘dark side’

Workplace
What characterizes contemporary knowledge work?
The Town Hall, the Tenth Floor and the Edge City: what do planners’ places of work look and feel like and why might it matter?

Career
Public servants, ‘gutter fighters’ and Dr Loophole: career paths in planning
‘Exit, voice and loyalty’

Profession
Are professions still relevant?
Is planning a profession?
The significance of communities of practice (or the ‘Goalkeepers’ Union’) amid other ‘duties’

Conclusion
Becoming reflexive practitioners

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Structured lecture sessions will use c.20 minute presentations alongside films and other media artefacts to convey knowledge of the field. Real world examples of ethical dilemmas in planning, attendance at a planning committee and contributions from planners will explore the practical application of theories in practice. Asynchronous debates in contemporary planning issues will be seeded and given momentum.
Academic readings support and develop material from the structured sessions

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The theoretical nature of the material and the need for students to demonstrate discursively the complexities of ethical planning dilemmas makes an essay the obvious and best choice given their need to demonstrate: an understanding of relevant theories; an ability to connect theory and practice; an ability to make insightful, analytical comment; and, that they can construct logical argument