What is this thing called planning? What is its domain? What do planners do? How do they talk? What are the limits and possibilities for planning imposed by power, politics, knowledge, technology, interpretation, ethics, institutional design?

In this comprehensive volume, the foremost voices in planning explore the foundational ideas and issues of the profession. This is not a book of bland abstract theorizing but an extended inquiry into the practice of the profession. As Mandelbaum notes in the Introduction, "the shared framework of these essays captures a pervasive interest in the behavior, values, character, and experience of professional planners at work.".

This landmark text defines the field for today's planners and the next generation.