The Social Choice Theory Of Urban Planning

Urban planning theory is essentially a kind of ideology that expatiates on cities and is philosophy about urban planning. It emphasize to study on what is urban planning, what is its significance, what is its rational procedure, and what is its objective. Urban planning theory includes noumenon theory and process theory. The noumenon theory relate to what urban planning is, which effect urban planning exert. The process theory relates to how urban planning is done, which measure, mechanism and procedure is taken.The important urban planning theory is that how politics, economy and society impact on urban planning, and what are effects of urban planning in Chinese political, economical and social conditions. Due to the disfigurement of the urban physical planning, the paper avoids urban physical planning, cites interest subject? to expatiate the mutual relationship between the government, economical organization, citizen, urban planner and urban planning. The paper analyses interest consensus? in urban planning, and puts forward the Social Theory of Urban Planning? The research route is as follow:First of all, the paper sets up the fundamental epistemology of urban planning.Essentially, urban planning belongs to a kind of social regime. What is the foundation and premise of urban planning and which function does it has? On the point of view that based on epistemology, the paper analyses which attribute urban planning has, whether the city can be meddled and planned artificially, which extent of the meddling and planning is reasonable. After that, the paper uses M. Webers social Action Theory? to analyze the rationality of humans action and urban planning, to elaborate the effects of urban planning under different economic systems, and to analyze the roles of Chinese urban planning.Secondly, according to the interest mechanism the paper analyzes the propulsionof urban development and interactions between urban interest subject?Based on that urban planning is the method to meet the needs and the tools bywhich the interest subject? gain interests, this paper analyzes the interest subject^ needs and contradictions to the urban space from four points of view. On the point of view about politics, urban space is a kind of important resource and an important manipulative element of the political implement. On the point of view about economic, urban space is the biggest wealth which human beings own. The modern cities exert the worth of land using. Exploiting and operating the urban land become the most primary way to accumulate wealth. On the point of view about technique, keeping the order of land using and achieving the perfection of the space system, urban planning is the important method of using land space befittingly and is means of organizing the function of space reasonably. The mission of urban planning is to find the perfect form of space using and make efforts to realize and maintain the perfect order of urban space.With the background of the recent situations of politics, society and economic in China, the paper studies on the propulsion of each kind of interest subjects (urban governments, urban economic organizations, urban residents, and urban planners) to urban development, which kind of interest they need, how they relate to the urban planning. The paper gives discussion on how the interest subjects dominated by the diverse value-oriented action, influence and change urban planning or they are influenced and changed by urban planning system. These interest subjects? value-oriented actions decide the trend of urban planning. The study of urban planning theory mustn#￡ be separated from the basic elements out of urban planning system, for these basic elements out of urban planning system have a crucial effect on the construction of urban planning system.This paper also studied on the connotations, the ways and implementation of urban public interest.Thirdly, the paper applies the correlative subjects?theories for some analysis.Due to the complicacy and connection of urban problems, the study of the theory in urban planning can not be confine within the knowledge of urban planning. The traditional urban planning theory focuses on the engineer technology didn$ resolve the recent urban complex problems. The achievements of the study of philosophy and sociology are the base of epistemology of the paper. To analyze the governmentalfunction of urban planning in different economic systems, the research applies the achievements of politics science, administration science and public choice science. To analyze economic organization? need behavior, the research applies the study of economics. To analyze the character of civil society, the research gets help from the achievements of sociology and economics.At last, the paper construct the new theory of urban planning—Mhe Social Choice Theory of Urban Planning?To found the system of urban planning depends on the requirement of politics, society, economic and the technology. The political function manifest on the system of politics, administrative organization, administrative behavior and the political value, decide and impact on the system of urban planning. The social function manifest on the social organization, the social need and the social culture, decide or impact on the system of urban planning. The economic function manifest on the economic system, economic organization and economic behavior, decide or impact on the system of urban planning. The impacts of politics, society, economic on the system of urban planning in different economic system and different time are not the same, sometimes the economic factors steering the direction of the urban development play dominating role. In the particular period, the social factors cannot be neglected because of the needs of the society is the essential motive power of urban development. The professional behaviors of the urban planner influence the form of the city. In order to confine the self-interest of urban interest subjects, and to achieve urban public interests, urban planning must be the syncretized-interest system, the controller of the urban resources and the adjuster of the conflicts. Urban planning is rather a forced choice of the interest subjects than a system. Existing many contradictions and conflicts of interest subjects in the distribution of the urban resources, urban planning is the result of the common choices of urban government, urban economic organizations, urban citizens and urban planners. The social choices of urban planning represent abroad society significance. No matter in which economic systems urban planning is the behavior results of the politics, society and economic, the paper analyses fully on these problems, and puts forward the comprehensive theory of urban planning— iihe Social Choice Theory of UrbanPlanning?The paper includes the contents as follow:Chapter 1 is the introduction to the background of the research, and covers the characteristic and main content of the study.Chapter 2 cites some principles of economics and sociology to discuss the foundation of social system, and to analyze the premise and functions of urban planning system.From the point of view epistemology, chapter 3 analyzes the property of urban planning system, attempts to answer whether city is been artificially intervened and been planned, which extent of planning is reasonable, how much degree city is been planned and designed. To use Social Action Theory of M. Web, the chapter analyzes human behavior rationality and urban planning rationality;elaborates the roles, characteristic, contradictions of urban planning in market economy system and planned economy system, analyses the main roles of Chinese urban planning.To elaborate the multiple meanings of urban space, The Chapter 4 analyzes the impetus of urban developments.At first, from the point of view economics, chapter 5 analyzes the superiority and function range of governmental intervening of urban planning. Secondly, the chapter indicates the main fields of urban planning intervening. Thirdly, the chapter elaborates the main roles of urban planning which government dominates. At last, to use Public Choice Theory, the chapter analyzes the economic behaviors of governmental urban planning.To elaborate the relationship between economic organization and urban planning, Chapter 6 analyzes the impetus of urban economic organization to urban development, the effects of urban land using of their actions, especially analyzes the land using of urban real estate and unit company. By discussing the relation between urban economic organization and urban planning, the chapter proposes that interest^ appeal of urban economic organization is fundamental of urban planning.Chapter 7 discusses on the relationship between citizen and urban planning. At first, the chapter studies on how the needs of the citizen affect urban development. With regard to the problems of the variation of the needs of the citizen and the societyvalue orientation in urban planning, and to cite the analytic methods of Individualism and Collectivism, the chapter tries to explain the needs of citizen. At last, this Chapter applies the Theory of Social Action of Habermas to explore society value orientation and the needs of citizen in the civil society.Chapter 8 covers discussions about planner and urban planning. On the roles analysis of urban planner and the backgrounds of urban planning in China, the Chapter expatiates on the relation between planner and urban government, economic organization and citizen, and defines the role orientation of urban planner in the civil society.The aim of chapter 9 is to discuss public interest in urban planning. Being defining the concept and connotation of urban public interest, the chapter indicates the representation and implementation of public interest in urban planning.To analyze the urban spatial interest mechanism, and to summarize the former conclusions, Chapter 10 synthesizes the Social Choice Theory of Urban Planning, elaborates the innovations of the paper, and points out the improvements of the paper.