URBS 4/511 Urban Policy & Strategic Analysis

Getting & Using Power

In Planning in the Face of Power, John Forester defines planning as 'selective organization of attention to real possibilities of action.' In this understanding, all planning is political: "As they formulate problems, analysts pre-empt decision-makers; they define and select feedback as well as process it." What follows is a summary of some of the main points Forester makes in defense of his position, and his recommendations for how to make use of his insights.

Recognize Problems, Seize Opportunities

Neglected dimensions of practice: "(Analysts) resolve problems less by calculation ("solving" them) and more by creating them anew, reformulating them so action and strategy are possible, sensible, and agreeable to the case at hand." This requires dealing with

factual analysis
coalition building ("Criticism is requisite to objectivity; detachment is not.")
networking
set of questions

Implications for practice

ability to speak and write effectively
selectively channel information and attention
no longer simply to be "efficient," but to work instead toward the correction of needless distortion.

To Be Rational, Be Political

Types of planners

Technician: power lies in technical information (power based on technical problems)
Incrementalist: information is source of power because it responds to organizational needs (power based on organizational needs)
Liberal-advocate: information is power because it responds to a need created by a pluralist political system (power based on political inequality)
Structuralist: information is power because it legitimates existing structure of power (and perpetuates public inattention) (power based on system legitimization)
Progressive: information is power because enables participation of citizens (and avoids legitimization issues of structuralists) (power based on citizen action)

Distortion of information: Distortion is inherent in communication, and sets the bounds (limits) to the rationality of action. Distortion comes from two sources: the social nature of communication (where distortion may be structural or incidental) and the contingent nature of communication (where distortion may be inevitable or unnecessary). This results in a 2 X 2 table:

	incidental	structural
inevitable	cognitive limits of communication	division of labor
unnecessary	interpersonal manipulation	structural legitimization

Managing Misinformation: Social interaction depends on

comprehension (distorted by problem framing)
sincerity or trust (distorted by false assurance)
legitimacy (distorted by lack of consent) and
knowledge (distorted by misrepresentation)

The Politics of Muddling Through: Bounding Rationality

Given limits on rationality, individuals construct simplified models of the real situation when confronted with a choice. As solutions are easier to find, standards are raised; as they are harder to find, standards fall. Depending on the conditions at hand, a strategy may be practical or ridiculous.

Comprehensive (Unbounded): rational actor working in a closed system on a well-defined problem with perfect information and unlimited time. Strategy: Optimize/solve (use algorithm, technique).
Cognitive limits on rationality: fallible actor working in a system open to its environment on an ambiguous problem with imperfect information and limited time. Strategy: Satisfice/hedge.
Social limits on rationality: several actors of varying skills working together in separate settings on a problem with various interpretations with information of varying quality and differential time commitments. Strategy: Network/search & satisfice.
Pluralist limits on rationality: several actors in competing interest groups with varied access to settings and multiple definitions of the problem using contested information where time is power. Strategy: Bargain/increment
Structurally distorted rationality: actors of unequal power with differential access based on power and ideologically defined problem using misinformation where time favors the "haves." Strategy: Anticipate/organize

Anticipate Organizational Power and Conflict

"Where severe inequalities exist, treating the strong and the weak alike ensures only that the strong remain strong and weak remain weak."

Planners have various strategies at their disposal to mediate land use conflicts:

Planner as Regulator
Mediate and Negotiate
Planner as Resource
Shuttle Diplomacy
Active and Interested Mediation
Split the Job-You mediate, I'll negotiate

Focus on What Counts: Communicative Action

Practice of Critical Listening

be attentive
ask questions
assess fundamental ambiguities
sense of "publicity"
respect for other

Making Sense Together

reading context and desire: facing ambiguity
world shaping
conversation as communicative action
conversation as learning
practically situated action
reproducing identity and social relations
political rationality

Use Theory to Anticipate and Respond

Experience of Communication Distortion

	Comprehension	Sincerity	Legitimacy	Truth
Face-to-face	What?	Can I trust you?	Is this right?	Is this true?
Organization	What does this mean?	Can we trust them?	Is this justified?	Is this true?
Social Structure	Do you think they understand what that means?	That's their line	Who are they to say?	What they never tell us about is….

Correcting Communication Distortion:

	Comprehension	Sincerity	Legitimacy	Truth
Face-to-face	What does that mean?	Does s/he mean that?	I don't accept that	I'd check to see if this is really true
Organization	Clean up the language so people can understand it	Check with X to see if we can trust them on this.	What does the neighborhood say about this?	Check the data to see if these figures are really correct
Social Structure	All this really means is…	What are they getting out of this?	Who does this serve other than the bureaucracy?	We have to show what can be done here

Anticipatory Practice

envision the situation
prepare or manage good arguments
negotiate strategically

These ideas are drawn from

Forester, J. 1989. Planning in the Face of Power. Berkeley: U of California Press.

MSU