ABSTRACT
As an enduring social projecr, planning needs to come to terms wich rhe social realities of 1.lst-century cities. Most Western cities today are demagraphically multicwmraJ, presenting me challenge of a new urban condition in which dlfference, Olherness. and pluraliry prevail. This ~ay asks whether there is a planning imagination capable of responding to (he challenges of diversi lY. I suggest and provide e:<amples of four key qualities of such an imagination: polidca.1, audacious, creative, and therapeutic. Embracing these qualiries constirutes a culrural change in planners' modes of thinking and practice.
