A continuous urbanization in industrial society has brought about many technically complex problems in the cities. Urban planning which aimed to solve such problems has been executed by city and local governments. As a result of the structural changes...
A continuous urbanization in industrial society has brought about many technically complex problems in the cities. Urban planning which aimed to solve such problems has been executed by city and local governments. As a result of the structural changes in the spatial and politico-economic organization of society since the 1970s, the scope of urban planning has expanded and the political role of the urban planner as well as the technical expertise and the managerial role of the planner has been re-emphasized in modern society.
Planning consists of a series of decision-making and conflict is inevitable in decision-making, so the urban planner perceives various kinds of conflict at every step of planning process. The early approach assumed that conflict was bad and harmful to organizational effectiveness. However, the current theoretical perspective encourages conflict. That is, the appropriate level of conflict can stimulate new ideas, result in better decisions through the imput of divergent opinions and offer other similar benefits to the organization. The same can be true to the public and private planning instituting.
Conflict resolution techniques include problem solving, persuasion, bargaining, politics, superordinate goals, expansion of resources, avoidance, smoothing, compromise, formal authority and so on. Stimulation of conflict can be achieved through manipulating communication messages and channels, creating heterogeneous units, or creating competition between units. In addition, the encouragement of professionalization can be a useful means of conflict management in planning institutions and may contribute to the rational planning.