Planning Ethics in the Age of Wicked Problems

Abstract

Ever since the publication of Rittel and Webber's Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning in 1973, the discourse on wicked problems has grown steadily in planning and other disciplines. Despite this, there has been little attention paid to the ethical dimensions of wicked problems. What are the ethical dimensions of wicked problems in planning and specifically, in e-planning? To answer this question, the author examines planning ethics in relation to the discourse on wicked problems. Following Hendler's framework (2001) on planning ethics, which comprises of five distinct discourses—namely, (i) the ethics of everyday behavior; (ii) the ethics of administrative discretion; (iii) the ethics of planning techniques; (iv) plan making; (v) normative planning theory—the author discusses each in relation to the discourse of wicked problems to draw out their ethical dimensions in the context of urban and regional planning. Through these discussions, the author argues that e-planning should engage with the discourse of planning ethics, and further, that e-planning can begin to develop its own ethical discourse in the face of wicked problems in planning today.

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