ABSTRACT
Our aim in this book is to bring together in a coherent way elements of the best of planning theory and practice from the past three decades. Much of what we advance here has been advocated before. A new approach can be seen as emerging from a number of normative planning theories (approaches) that incorporate communicative and/or critical rationality (or Rawlsian reasonableness) and that are based on values that fit our broad notion of “liberal.” 1 In a pragmatic spirit, we propose that compatible elements from these approaches be incorporated by the contemporary planner in developing an emerging dialogical planning approach. 2
