Going for Plan B - Conditioning Adaptive Planning

The assumption of linear growth, Plan A, no longer works well, underpinned as it is by arguments deduced from the ‘normal’ sciences and their linear understanding of the world we are part of. Functionality, certainty and predictability have proven to be no longer trustworthy, with serious consequences for city planning. It is not easy to venture out beyond current paradigms, as these are entrenched deeply within us, framing our ideas, attitudes, behaviours and actions. Nevertheless, with this contribution we propose a Plan B and what some would call a ‘post normal’ science perspective, focusing on a non-linear understanding of our world. A non-linear understanding means we consider the world to be undergoing discontinuous change, which is and becomes manifest largely beyond our control. It will have far-reaching consequences for the institutional design used by planners, interacting with and influencing a city’s development. Despite this we believe there are strong arguments in support of a Plan B.