Advocacy Planning in the Age of Trump: An Opportunity to Influence National Urban Policy

In 1965, Paul Davidoff, reflecting upon growing racial inequality in American society, wrote, ‘Advocacy and Pluralism in Planning’ which challenged several of the most important assumptions underlying the rational model of planning which dominated mid-century professional practice in the United States and Europe. This article, which remains one of the most often cited in planning, argues against the existence of a unitary public interest in favor of multiple public interests based upon race, class, religion, ethnicity, and gender. The article also questions the objectivity of local planning agencies which Davidoff believed advanced policies and plans benefitting powerful economic elites at the expense of those living in poor and working-class neighborhoods.