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planning literature this model has also been called the 'synoptic' (Hudson, 1979:
388) or the 'rational-comprehensive' planning model (Sandercock, 1998: 169).
The rational planning approach involved the specification of goals, the quantitative
evaluation of means and their likely outcomes, and a continuous process of moni-
toring and feedback. A clear distinction is made between the politician who sets
values and defines the overall strategy and the planner who, acting as a technician,
compiles and processes the necessary technical information in order to decide on
the best means to achieve the politically defined ends.
The rational model in planning theory is based on the implicit assumption that
science and technology are the most influential factors in decision-making. The
planner is the 'expert' who relies on the 'objectivity' of specialist experience in
order to achieve the best results for 'the public' (Schönwandt, 2000). The model
assumed that actors of the individual planning institutions not only have sufficient
autonomy and authority to develop and design plans on the basis of 'rational' analy-
sis but also have sufficient power to implement these plans. No particular attention
is paid to the potential role of cartographic representations in the literature on ratio-
nal planning theory, which might reflect the underlying assumption that 'maps' in
the planning process are an objective and scientifically informed instrument for
planners with no other role than to provide spatially relevant information which
allows rational decision-making.
Criticisms of the rational planning approach focused on it being positivistic,
science- and technology-trusting, and ignorant of history, societal values, norms
and especially of politics. In particular, the assumption that there is consensus in
values has been criticised by many, who recognise that 'expert knowledge' is
based on values and norms and is hence not an independent factor (cf. Mandel-
baum
et al.
, 1996). Several theorists have tried to limit the weaknesses of the ratio-
nal model by introducing modifications. Herbert Simon's (1976) concept of
'bounded rationality' and 'satisficing' (rather than optimal) solutions, or Charles
Lindblom's (1959) strategy of 'successive limited comparisons' or 'muddling
through', give an example of numerous different approaches that have been
taken to develop the model further and to make it more appropriate to real-life
situations.
POLITICAL APPROACHES TO UNDERSTANDING PLANNING
Although the work of most analysts of the rational planning model makes some ref-
erence to the issue of agreeing on values in planning, the stage of decision-making
on which their work is focused presents planning as an essentially technical
process removed from its political context. Long (1959, quoted in Taylor, 1998)
represents a notable exception to this in being one of the first planning theorists to
comment on the fundamentally political rather than technical nature of planning:
