Latin American Housing Network

full of research


http://www.lahn.utexas.org/cities.html

Allmendinger, Philip: Planning Theory (2nd Ed) 2009 CHAPTER 4

Critical Theory

The essence of critical theory is to change society rather than simply understand and analyze it. (p. 79)
Key proposition: urban areas and planning are linked with society
- help expose planning's  complicity with state, nation, capitalism (p. 90)

David Harvey
- capitalism is tied to location and built environment (p. 86)

"Symbiotic relationship between the urban and capital will have given some strong clues as to why some form of state intervention is land and property is required. Thre are basically two reasons. The first is that capitalism cannot provide all of the conditions that it needs to continue. In particular, infrastructure such as roads, bridges etc. are not commodities like land or labour that can be bought asn dold because they involve a great deal of capital investment with little or no return. Other services and commodities such as parks, refuse collection and low-cost housing also fall into this category." (p.89)

EVERYTHING THAT IS MISSING IN COLONIAS IS WHAT IS MISSING IN CAPITALISM, EVEN THOUGH COLONIAS ARE CUT OF TO SOME EXTENT? HRM

neo-liberalism: capitalism is self-regulating

Allmendinger, Philip: Planning Theory (2nd Ed) 2009 CHAPTER 1

Chapter 1:
- Systems Theory favors the ones in power - planners (p.2)


- Logical positivism has been largely abandoned in social sciences, it continues to have an influence upon social sciences through the focus upon empiricism (p.3)

empiricism, in philosophy, the view that all concepts originate in experience, that all concepts are about or applicable to things that can be experienced, or that all rationally acceptable beliefs or propositions are justifiable or knowable only through experience. This broad definition accords with the derivation of the term empiricism from the ancient Greek word empeiria, “experience.”
source:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/186146/empiricism

Social theory, therefore, not only reflects upon society but can also shape it in a way that natural sciences cannot. (p.4)
open system (society)
closed system (natural sciences)

In science, Newton's laws held true til Einstein 
> Popper developed: science based on fallibility. Falsifications sees theories as speculative and provisional truths - til they are disproven. Hypothesis is tested through observations, remains a provisional truth until disproven (p.5)
Criticism: observation statements are themselves fallible. 

Kuhn: 
Science works with paradigms or views of reality that encapsulate current knowledge of a subject (p.7)
Example of Copernicus x Bible < Galileo < heliocentric view accepted 200 years after Copernicus

> turn to subjective > relativism in science (criteria for judging the merits of theories will depend on the values and interests of the individual or community entertaining them. (p.8)

Competing world views appeal to different legitimacies. 
in planning: relativism is characteristic of postmodernism, postmodern planning, advocacy
If one theory is chosen over another (all logically consistent with the same data), the choice has less to do with objective science and more to do with social factors (p.9) 

Planning involves aspects of both natural science and social science. (p.10) 

Normative theory
- how the world ought to be, and how to achieve that
- theories of planning 
- Marxist, liberal, communicative, collaborative planning approaches

Perspective theories
- How to go about things, concerned with best means of achieving a desired condition
- theories in planning
- cost-benefit analysis, mixed scanning etc. 

Empirical theory
- explains and interprets reality
- focus on causal relationships, in/dependent variables, Hypothesis to be tested

Models
- simplified representations and pictures of reality
- do not always include hypotheses, but are testable

Conceptual frameworks or perspectives
- linguistic analysis
- ways of looking at or conceiving an object of study
- some Marxist perspectives fall here

Theorizing
- catch-all category
- thinking about some aspect of a phenomenon

"..there is no 'planning'. Rather, there is a diversity of practices in planning (as there is everywhere), and different kinds of planners in different contexts should (and do) enact different models or theories of planning (Alexander, 2003, p. 181)" (p.12)

Theory of discourse (p. 12)
- Theories are socially constructed between power and discourse
- rejects 'Truth', absolute, objective concept
- normative

normative (ˈnɔːmətɪv)

adj

1. implying, creating, or prescribing a norm or standard, as in language: normative grammar.

2. expressing value judgments or prescriptions as contrasted with stating facts: normative economics.

3. of, relating to, or based on norms

source: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/normative

Example: 
often: Scientific progress > industrial and commercial growth
Marx: Science ought to serve the liberation of humanity from exploitation

Theory can be seen as discourse and a mask for power and politics (p. 17)
inputs: normative elements (social, individual), discursive elements - both influenced by power

 in planning: 
plan reflection of 
- desires and needs of local area
- central government and economic forces

in planning theory: 
- structure - agency relationship 
(use of theory limited by structure, theories of planning ignore the relationship (making them less useful) 

structuralism (~marxism) - emphasizes the role of structure in dictating actions and events
- criticized for ignoring actors

intentionalism
- focuses on individual action
- Public Choice Theory 
- criticism: people sometimes behave 'illogically' 

fuse of structuralism and intentionalism:
- Giddens: Structuration
To recognize the duality of structure an agency
- Bhaskar: Critical Realism

Actor Network Theory - social relations and power of agency

Post-structuralist argue that we cannot distinguish between structure and agency

Communicative Planning Theory - dominant paradigm in planning theory

can see as: 
theory - planners
agency - practitioners

Planners are influenced by structure as well as create structure

"Instead of asking whether a theory "works", we should be asking questions about why this particular theory was used, who is using it and for what purpose. The answer to these questions will tell us as much (if not more) of importance as whether the theory corresponds to reality." (p. 29)

Ethnographic research

Long-term engagement in the field setting or place where the ethnography takes place, is called participant observation.  This is perhaps the primary source of ethnographic data. The term represents the dual role of the ethnographer. To develop an understanding of what it is like to live in a setting, the researcher must both become a participant in the life of the setting while also maintaining the stance of an observer, someone who can describes the experience with a measure of what we might call "detachment." Note that this does not mean that ethnographers cannot also become advocates for the people they study. Typically ethnographers spend many months or even years in the places where they conduct their research often forming lasting bonds with people. 

Interviews provide for what might be called "targeted" data collection by asking specific but open-ended questions. There is a great variety of interview styles. Each ethnographer brings his or her own unique approach to the process. Regardless, the emphasis is on allowing the person or persons being interviewed to answer without being limited by pre-defined choices -- something which clearly differentiates qualitative from more quantitative or demographic approaches. In most cases, an ethnographic interview looks and feels little different than an everyday conversation and indeed in the course of long-term participant-observation, most conversations are in fact purely spontaneous and without any specific agenda.

Researchers collect other sources of data which depend on the specific nature of the field setting. This may take the form of representative artifacts that embody characteristics of the topic of interest, government reports, and newspaper and magazine articles. Although often not tied to the site of study, secondary academic sources are utilized to "locate" the specific study within an existing body of literature.

source: 
http://www.brianhoey.com/General%20Site/general_defn-ethnography.htm

calculator for 'green' home improvements

http://www.lahn.utexas.org/cbhit/CBHIT.html

© is held by the LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin.

Any reference or publication reference to the model should be as follows: 

LBJ School of Public Affairs. 2012 Cost-Benefit Home Intervention Tool or C-BHIT at www.utexas.lahn.org