Some planning and ideology classics

It is important first to engage with what planning thinkers have said about politics, ideology and planning, as this will also indicate major gaps in this engagement. This review is mainly focused on literature of the last 10–15 years. However it will help to glance briefly at some older classic texts. We could go back to a much-cited article by Foley (1960) on the three ideologies of planning. In fact he refers to the three philosophies of planning, which he identifies as ‘sub-ideologies’. These involve making the goal of planning: reconciling competing demands for land, or improving the physical environment, or seeking directly social objectives. He notes the scope for inconsistencies between the three approaches. While he is a perceptive and influential view of British planning by a well-informed US observer, Foley's framework is primarily a discussion of the goals of British planning, rather than a discussion of any underlying ideological impacts on its activities.

Another early consideration of ideology and planning was in the proceedings of a 1973 conference (Kingston Polytechnic 1973) on Ideologies in Planning. In particular this led to the publication of some intriguing reflections by Patsy Healey (1974) – intriguing because she was not later to show direct interest in the area in her many writings. At that moment she shared the view of this book:

Healey argued that planners, just like activists, need ideologies in order to act, and so opening up the discussion is necessary to reduce vulnerability.