Planning Theory Education

Abstract

This article analyzes the results of a survey of planning theory course outlines conducted in 2009 parallel to three similar surveys that together provide a thirty-year review of a central component of planning education. The article begins by briefly reviewing the major intellectual developments that occurred in planning theory over the past thirty years. It then examines the course topics and required readings, authors, and texts for forty-eight master’s-level courses offered during the 2009-2010 academic year. The article concludes by evaluating the survey findings and the picture they paint of contemporary planning theory education.