Journals / Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Mimarlık Fakültesi Dergisi / 2007 / Cilt: 24 - Sayı: 1
The Changing Role of Social Scientists in Urban Planning: To Become a Proactive Participant in Research
- Pages
- 139–152
- DOI
- —
Abstract
In this paper, by reviewing urban planning paradigms since World War II, I demonstrate how the role of social scientists has changed in accordance with global trends, theoretical argumentation in planning and the relationship of research with practice. I do this in reference to three general planning approaches, including physical, rational, and participatory. Then, I display how social scientists can transform real life planning processes into a change process through scientific inquiry. Social scientists can take an active role in planning as a proactive participant. They can moderate planning processes as a process of knowledge generation with the participation of local stakeholders. This can contribute to enhancing reflexive and dialogue-based, democratic, socially sound, and effective planning. This kind of ‘insider’ position of social scientists calls for two main strengths in the generation of scientific knowledge. First, social scientists can develop a more complete map about real life processes when they are a part of those processes. This position can allow them to understand the local knowledge ‘in’ the process rather than to produce knowledge about the process ‘outside’ the process. Secondly, social scientists can contribute to reconstructing and moving the community’s situation forward toward a better state. Social scientists who take an insider position in planning should ensure the fulfillment of three conditions in the process of knowledge generation in planning. The first condition is the participation of interested stakeholders. Shared local knowledge should reflect all interests in the community. The second condition plays the role of serving as a catalyzing factor in the generation of actionable knowledge and in taking an action. The third condition fosters the commitment of local stakeholders in the process as well as in the collectively generated local decisions as a result of this process.