Ethics in Planning

Values, Morals, and Ethics

• Values influence Behavior(ethics) and Beliefs(morals)
• Beliefs are the basis of morals, and are part of the effect on Behavior
• Behavior is the domain of ethics, which may be
  • rule-driven
  • situation-driven

Rules for Ethical Behavior

1. Golden Mean--moderation in all things
2. Utilitarian--greatest good for greatest number
3. Deontological--"act always so you can wish your maxim should become universal law
   • Aristotle's "Golden Rule"
   • Kant's "Categorical Imperative"
   • Rawl's "Veil of Ignorance"
4. Situation Ethics--must have motive, means, and consequences
5. Rule-Bound--rules, once accepted, may never be broken

Individuals in Organizations (Kathryn Denhardt)

1. identify rules and objectives
2. determine values and assumptions underlying rules
3. assess ethical foundations of assumptions
4. make ethical judgement

AICP Code of Ethics

Considerations in Making Ethical Judgements

• Marcuse--Accountants (rules) vs. Lawyers (interpretation)
• Regime values
• Public Interest Criterion
  • what do people want
  • what do people need
  • what should people have
• Values of Professional Administrator
  • efficiency
  • equality
  • equity
  • loyalty
  • responsibility
• Primacy of the Public (Ventriss)--publicness of inquiry
• Marcuse's dilemmas
  • Do you do anything to get client's plan approved?
  • Do you change recommendations or hold data private at request of mayor?
  • Are you ever justified in working on a project which is not in the public good (e.g., Pan Am building exaccerbating congestion in midtown Manhattan)?
  • Can a consultant represent both sides of an issue?
• Other Issues
  • Citizen participation--is it only "cooling out the marks"?
  • Truth-telling--is there a positive duty to tell the truth, or only not to lie?
  • Mandatory drug testing--how does one balance an employer's right to know against an individual's right to privacy?
  • Equal Employment Opportunity--at what point does redressing past injustice create new injustice in the present?

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