An Evaluation of the “Choice” Theory of Planning

Abstract

In the May 1962 issue of the Journal, Paul Davidoff and Thomas Reiner put forward their “choice” theory of planning. They defined planning as “a process for determining appropriate future action through a sequence of choices”: “The choices which constitute the planning process are made at three levels: first, the selection of ends and criteria; second, the identification of a set of alternatives consistent with these general prescriptives, and the selection of a desired alternative; and third, guidance of action toward determined ends…. Judgment permeates planning. We will show the need for and some means of rendering judgments explicitly and with reason.” The core of the theory is that the “exercise of choice is its (planning's) characteristic intellectual act.” John Dakin examines this theory of planning by stating some requirements any theory of planning must meet and testing the “choice” theory against them. He concludes that although the “choice” theory is essential and should be developed, it cannot claim to be more than a part of a complete theory of planning. Other bases for a theory are suggested.

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