Planning Theory Education: A Forty-Year Review

Abstract

This article analyzes the results of a survey of planning theory course outlines conducted in 2020 parallel to four similar surveys that together provide a forty-year review of a central component of planning education. The article begins by briefly reviewing the major trends in planning theory over the past forty years. It then examines the course topics and required readings, authors, and texts for sixty-two master’s-level courses offered during the 2019–2020 academic years. The article concludes by evaluating the survey findings and the picture they paint of contemporary planning theory education.