Richard S. Bolan

The Practitioner as Theorist The Phenomenology of the Professional Episode

Abstract This paper is an exploration of the gap between theory and practice, and the resulting chasm between knowledge and action. Initially the paper examines the distinction between the logic of scientific knowledge and the logic of practice. Then a schematic framework is developed for analyzing an episode of professional practice, forming the basis for three interrelated discussions. First, is an examination of how theories are socially constituted, distinguishing between theory construction by an institutionalized profession and theory construction by an individual practitioner. The second discussion analyzes the practitioner as a “self-in-situation,” suggesting that planning episodes are analogous to dramas, and reflect the existence of the planner in scenes with constituent others, each of whom mutually constructs a performance, conforming in some degree to the symbolic codes and norms of the situation. From this phenomenological view of the planning episode, the third argument offers a discussion ...

Community Decision Behavior: The Culture of Planning

Abstract This paper sets forth a conceptual framework for better understanding the relationships between the planning process and community decision-making. From an initial assumption concerning the nature of the decision-making process, the paper suggests four sets of independent variables that affect decision outcomes: (1) process roles (including the dimensions of specialization and skill); (2) the decision field (including the environment for decision not only in the community but within the deciding body itself); (3) planning and action strategies; and (4) issue attributes. Using this framework, a series of hypotheses are posed for future research, and the potential implications for urban planning are discussed.

The Social Relations of the Planner

Abstract The city planner, in playing his role, engages in a social process which can be analyzed in terms of a planning role, a client role, and a community decision network—all interacting around a public agenda. In the conceptual framework presented here, the planner is viewed as having a primary relationship with his client group, whom he must first motivate. Then, together, the planner-client team must relate to the larger community network, which they attempt to move. Both sets of relationships are affected by role postures, situational factors, and environmental conditions. This analysis suggests that traditional notions of the planners role are too narrowly focused on substantive methodologies which imply highly simplistic assumptions about the social setting for planning.

Rationality revisited: An alternative perspective on reason in management and planning

This paper is concerned with enlarging the traditional view of rationality that has dominated management and planning in modern times. The inquiry begins by re‐examining Weber’s discussion of rationality as interpreted by contemporary analysts. Weber saw rationality as multi‐faceted and included notions of a social rationality involving more than simple instrumental or “practical” rationality. Habermas’ ideas concerning communicative action are then introduced as the basis for parsing out Weber’s differing conceptions of rationality based on the dual underlying motivations of pursuing social agreement along with technical or instrumental goals. In dialectical fashion, the paper introduces the concept of adaptive rationality involving a synthetic form of reason that mediates between substantive, or social, rationality and instrumental, or technical, rationality. This adaptive form of reason is seen as the heart of management and planning and requires a combined technical, political and moral imagination in the service of creating new forms of social practice and marshaling both the collective will and resources for their fulfillment. Thus, the paper argues for a wider conception of rationality that explicitly acknowledges social norms and the distribution of power and concludes with the hope of a renewed focus of research for a richer understanding of rational action.

Organizing for Sustainable Growth in Poland

Abstract Following the end of Communist rule in 1989, Poland has been facing the difficult challenge of responding to the legacy of a devastated environment amid an overwhelming economic crisis. This article describes how Poland has been responding to this challenge, with particular focus on the countrys policy of sustainable development within the framework of transition to a democratic market economy. The article discusses achievements and difficulties in seeking both effective environmental protection and economic restructuring since 1989 and examines the countrys future needs and problems. The conclusion discusses the implications of the Polish experience for institutional design and development theory.

Legal Issues for an Integrated Information Center

The ability to collect, store, retrieve, and combine information in computerized databases has magnified the potential for misuse of the information. The law is only beginning to deal with these new threats by expanding the laws of privacy, copyright, misrepresentation, products liability, and defamation. The laws regarding computerized databases are certain to change rapidly as information technology advances.

A model academic Integrated Information Center

Based on the results of the information and technology requirements assessments, three configurations for the model IIC were developed—a basic model, an intermediate model, and an advanced model. These configurations of the model IIC represent increasing numbers and sophistication of support capabilities as well as increasing costs. They represent possible stages of implementation depending on the requirements of the academic unit and the resources at its disposal.

Issues Relating to the Implementation and Management of an Integrated Information Center.

This article addresses some issues related to the implementation and management of the Integrated Information Center (IIC). These issues include the impact of the legal environment within which an IIC must operate, the organization structure of the IIC, and the funding of the IIC. In addition, the article discusses the reactions of key stakeholders on campus to the proposed model IIC.

The economics of environmental policy in Poland : Implications for countries in transition

The objective of this article is to generate insights into the problems and opportunities faced by countries in transition in implementing environmental policy based on the recent experience of Poland. There is much to be learned from the experience of the country that arguably took the riskiest and boldest path of environmental and economic institutional change. The experience of Poland can be enlightening in terms the problems and opportunities in establishing an institutional framework that can validate the long term legitimacy of sustainable development as a national goal. From the unique set of circumstances facing Poland, lessons can be derived for other countries in transition. At the deepest level, Polands experience can also contribute to expanding our theoretical understanding of economic change and development. The paper begins by introducing the basic welfare economics of institutional choice. The theoretical arguments are presented in terms general to institutional design and specific to env...

My 60 Years as a Planner

This article is a continuation of JAPA’s “Perspective” series that provides a view of the 60-year career of Richard S. Bolan. In those 60 years Bolan experienced four different career phases beginning with eight years of practice experience, followed by a period at the former Joint Center for Urban Studies of MIT and Harvard. From there he joined the faculty of Boston College, where he published numerous contributions to planning theory. In 1985 he moved to the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota, where he engaged in international work focusing on Central and Eastern Europe and wrote about the failed role of planning in the fall of communism and essential works in environmental remedial work for an extremely polluted region. He has continued teaching since officially retiring in 1988 with current responsibilities teaching planning theory at the doctoral level. He has just completed a book being considered for publication, titled Urban Plannings Philosophical Entanglements: The Rugged Dialectical Path from Knowledge to Action.