ABSTRACT
Planners traditionally justify their work by referring to those persons whose “reasons” (usually described as “needs,” “wants,” “rights,” or “values”) would be neglected or violated as a consequence of private decisions. Throughout the history of planning, the concerns of neighbors, poor people, or future inhabitants have been evoked to legitimate zoning ordinances, welfare policies, investment programs, and other public acts. In all their activities, planners have claimed that they command a broad and comprehensive “rationality” that counteracts egoistic and myopic private decisions—that they can guide public choices toward a collectively satisfying result.
