Conflict, Negotiation, and Planning

Planning practice is, and must be, rife with conflict, largely because people disagree with one another about what to do and how to do it. What should planners do when they find themselves immersed in such disagreements?

Many are tempted to flee or remain quiet, fearing that conflict will break out into the equivalent of war. That¹s just politics, they often say; the task of resolving those conflicts is better left to the politicians. This course presumes instead that conflict is a fundamental part of planning practice and that planners need to know how to work through those conflicts and, where possible, transform them into productive and often innovative forms of planning thought and action. Planners can do that by learning how to negotiate, how to mediate, how to build consensus, and how to plan collaboratively. The course combines theoretical readings with first-person narratives, case studies, and simulations.