ABSTRACT
Spatial complexity captures the center of attention among students of planning even as it continues to challenge the practice of plan making. Instead of adopting the commonplace call for interdisciplinary collaboration to comprehend complex urban problems I make the case for ‘undisciplined’ critically opportunistic plan making: opportunistic because situation focused, critical because inclusive of diverse outlooks. Planning practitioners find common ground across disciplinary divides not through mastery of disciplinary theory and method, but by learning the concepts, tools and conventions for practical judgment that disciplinary study make possible. Disciplinary detachment enables practitioners to combine different aspects of practical judgment to make plans better suited to cope with complex urban problems. I describe an example of how such combination might work in assessing a housing affordability plan mandate for Illinois municipalities.
