Student Papers Archive

What’s Theory Got to Do With It?

An examination of the utility of planning theory in planning practice.

Monterey Park Civic Center, where city planning happens. [Photo by Nandaro, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons]

I wrote the original version of this paper in March 2004 for a graduate course on planning history and theory at UCLA Urban Planning. It has been edited for clarity, with paragraphs added defining Rational Planning and…