Outside the Whale: Progressive Planning and the Dilemmas of Radical Reform

Abstract

Progressive planners—those who are involved in radical reform—confront dilemmas in their work that do not apply to traditional social reformers. Because they seek to transform society into something other than what it is, progressive planners must evolve new responses to everyday problems. At the same time, they must change commonly held perceptions of how society defines those problems. Finally, they cannot avoid working with traditional political and economic organizations. The ability of progressive planners to perceive and confront those dilemmas can affect the success of their initiatives.