ABSTRACT
Planning theory has been part of planning texts and planning curricula for decades. It has evolved, and definitions of its scope, intent, and substance have changed. Instead of attempting to develop consensus on a single approach to planning theory, many writers have advocated the delineation of different types of planning theory. Shean McConnell (1981), for example, follows Andreas Faludi (1973), among others, and speaks of theory in, of, and for planning. Theory in planning includes ideas developed in other disciplines that may be used by planners and planning theorists. Theories developed by ecologists, for instance, have contributed to both planners’ understanding of urban systems and the incorporation of such understanding in theories of how planning functions within these systems. Theories in planning are, therefore, those that come from outside the planning field and help us to explain or direct planning efforts in particular directions given this information.
