Is There a Role for Evidence-Based Practice in Urban Planning and Policy?

Abstract

Can the craft of planning take advantage of a growing body of planning-relevant research? Evidence-based practice proposes a better connection between research and professional work, but raises several concerns about the character of valid evidence, the strength and clarity of planning research, and inequalities in the available resources for integrating research into planning practice. Much of planning practice is a reflective craft where skills of mediation, negotiation, listening, and framing are prominent. As part of the planner's work employing these skills, however, there is a valuable role for research-generated evidence to inform decision making. Evidence-based practice needs careful implementation but it can enrich the field of planning by linking research to practice.

Keywords:

• Research
• evidence
• health

Notes

1. Relevant professions include business (Pfeffer & Sutton, 2006b), nursing (Dale, 2005; French, 2002), social work (Rubin, 2008; Webb, 2001), education (Davies, 1999; Slavin, 2002), interior design (InformeDesign, 2008), public health (Brownson et al., 2003), and medicine (Coomarasamy & Khan, 2004; Sackett et al., 1996).

2. Research is a form of scholarship or “the production and transmission of culturally valued, specialized knowledge” typically with clear goals, methods, broader significance, documentation and dissemination, and peer review (Diamond, 2002; Humphreys, 1997, p. 1). It is possible to practice in a scholarly way, just as it is possible to undertake the scholarship of teaching, though most practice is not scholarship (Boyer, 1990; Rice, 2002).