Plan It Without a Condom!

Abstract

Cities draw from many voices, many rationalities. However, planners often make an effort to separate dissimilar uses from each other and even neglect plural rationalities. Their plans work like condoms, designed to defend us against being raped by the cacophonous abundance of the metropolis. The metaphor, borrowed from Georg Simmel (1903), encourages planners to use monorationality as a tool for planning. But is diversity, even if cacophonous, not also a vital sign of urbanity? Based upon Mary Douglas's cultural theory, the article aims to demonstrate how planners can profit from exploring the frontiers of polyrationality.