Planning theory, although quite recent in its appearance, has not had a clear definition of what it truly advocates nor what it encompasses within its boundaries. Planning, as a profession, has had a similar fate; the meaning of each professional's role is often lost in translation with the disparate approaches in decision-making for spatial development and creating space for people. As such, Readings in Planning Theory (Structure and Debates of Planning Theory) by Fainstein and DeFilippis as well as The Three Historic Currents of City Planning by Marcuse would be used to analyze whether planning theory has value in planning practice. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In this week's first reading, Fainstein and DeFilippis addressed one of the biggest questions planning professionals face today because of the gap that seemingly exists between planning practice and theory. Unlike other professions (e.g. political scientist, economist or geographer) that have had their own predefined justification or interpretation on topics within their expertise, planning theory does not have this cookie-cutter mold. This is mainly due to the fact that planning is not performed only by planning professionals, while professionals are challenged with the expectations of balancing public-private stakeholder demands, working with unpredictable circumstances of the future and recognizing the inevitable control involved to being in the profession. Beyond all this, it is immensely crucial that planners can instill effective and appropriate change in the interest of the public without ignoring what is not being heard. But all this cannot be done without a specific definition of the role planners play in the development of a good city. What is clear is that planning theory changes over time and even, possibly, different competing views of what planning should do over the same period of time may emerge. This is where theorists can assist practicing planners in delivering results and become advocates for planning that can be used to create an efficient, appropriate and recognizable city/region for all, be it a politician, a civic citizen or entrepreneurs. Drawing from both readings and through numerous narratives, it can be concluded that planning theory is important in the realm of planning. Although planning theory has been a difficult topic to define due to the complexity of its scope, establishing theory as a link away from planning practice creates unnecessary barriers and obstacles. Becoming aware that planning does not just involve a single definitive system of explanation, but a mixture of heterogeneous processes could enable planners to make greater use of theories in practice. It is also important to understand theories that address various aspects of planning that exist simultaneously even though they may be conflicting in nature. Closing the gap would allow a broader path and guidance to be established to direct where planning should go and not purely based on intuition or instinct. Adhering to a theory and using it as a definitive map can lead us away from our main goal, we can instead apply the theory as a guiding tool to help us find our way efficiently with better judgment. The application of.