Article

From Rational Planning to Communicative Planning: Exploring the Roles of Responsible Planners in Beijing

Author

Zhang Lei, Professor, School of Public Administration and Policy, RUC

Liao Lu, Assitant Professor, School of Public Administration and Policy, RUC

Abstract

Thirty-two of China’s largest cities have implemented community planner policies. Scholars have debated whether these initiatives have accelerated China’s urban planning system transition from more rational to communicative planning. Through a survey and 23 interviews, we investigated the role tendencies and motivators of a typical example of community planners, known in Beijing as responsible planners. We developed a typology delineating three roles of responsible planners: technical expert, advocate planner, and communicative planner. Results suggest that responsible planners frequently play hybrid roles, yet they exhibit a limited understanding of their role as communicative planners. Graduate planning education in China has tended to stereotype responsible planners as technical experts. Institutional design requiring public participation reduces reliance on technical experts. Responsible planners’ understanding their roles differ significantly from planning practices in North America. The qualitative interviews further illuminated these differences and unraveled the complex motivators in responsible planners’ role choices within the Chinese context.

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