ABSTRACT
In the post-positivist context of recent years, the expansive work of Jürgen Habermas has had a significant influence on the ways in which planning has been conceptualised (e.g. Forester, 1989; Sager, 1994; Healey and Hillier, 1996; Healey, 1997a). Planning theorists have, however, also found inspiration from other interrelated strands of non-positivist philosophy and social theory, including postmodernism (in its various forms), post-structuralism and pragmatism. This chapter is focused on the use of pragmatism within planning theory. It asks a ‘pragmatic’ question: what practical difference does it make whether planners draw on Habermas or on the work of the pragmatists? As will be shown, there is no clear-cut answer to this question as Habermas and the pragmatists share many common positions. There are, nevertheless, important – though not necessarily fundamental – differences. This chapter argues that pragmatism offers us a meaningful way to respond to certain of the theoretical and practical problems with the use of Habermas within planning theory (e.g. as identified by Tewdwr-Jones and Allmendinger, 1998).
