Toward Greater Heights for Planning: Reconciling the Differences between Profession, Practice, and Academic Field

This article addresses the current identity crisis in the field of planning and offers a new vision of how it can be reconciled. Rather than retrench the profession and academia to a single paradigm of planning practice, we advocate expanding the domain of planning to reflect the rich variety of planning activities pursued by practitioners today. Key distinctions are proposed among three domains of planning—the organized profession, practice at large, and the academic field. Burgeoning activity within the realm of planning often occurs without the guidance of professional planners or academics. Working together, and following their distinctive missions, academia and the profession can better address emerging opportunities.