Making Planning Education Relevant: A Proposal

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Abstract
During the very decade in which urban problems have moved to the forefront of public attention, city and regional planning as an academic discipline has found its objectives to be increasingly ambiguous. Three possible directions suggest themselves: (1) emphasis on public policy analysis; (2) professional specialization along many “tracks”; and/or (3) concentration on urban studies. All will require more effective ways of involving education with the “real world.” One promising approach is a cyclical concept of the educational process, based on a rhythm of engagement and withdrawal from the real world on a number of time scales. Institutionally, the way may now be open for the establishment of a relatively autonomous university-wide Institute of Urban Field Projects to act as broker and coordinator of the field activities of many schools. Despite formidable operational problems, there might be substantial advantages in adopting a cyclical planning educational process with field work as an essential ingredient.

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