John Friedmann

John Friedmann is an Honorary Professor in the School and continues as Professor Emeritus in the School of Public Affairs at UCLA. He was founding professor of Program for Urban Planning in the Graduate School of Architecture and Planning at UCLA, and at various times between 1969 and 1996 served as its head for a total of 14 years. In 1988, he was given the American Collegiate Schools of Planning Distinguished Planning Educator Award. International recognition for his achievements includes Honorary Doctorates from the Catholic University of Chile and the University of Dortmund. His publication record includes 15 individually authored books, 11 co-edited books, and more than 150 chapters, articles, and reviews. Prior to coming to SCARP, he was a Professorial Fellow in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning of the University of Melbourne. His current research is on urbanization processes with special reference to China. His most recent books include Empowerment: A Theory of Alternative Development (1993), Cities for Citizens: Planning and the Rise of Civil Society (with Mike Douglass) (1996), The Prospect of Cities (2002), and China’s Urban Transition (2005). Friedmann is married to Leonie Sandercock, Professor of Urban Planning and Social Policy who joined the SCARP faculty in July 2001.

Major Areas of Expertise in Sustainability Planning

1. International development planning. Planning is becoming increasingly global in scope, and many planners have spent years as consultants to foreign governments and international agencies. As planners, our emphasis tends to be at the scale of regions, urban areas, and local communities . Development planning is a dynamic professional field currently dominated by non-governmental organizations, and a number of SCARP students each year end up working abroad on questions of sustainable development. In the past, my research has focused on Latin America (Brazil, Chile, Venezuela, Mexico); currently I am particularly interested in China’s transition to a socialist market society.

b) Other closely related courses in SCARP:

c) Other closely related courses at UBC:

2. Planning Theory. Why does planning (which is an applied field) have “theory?” And what sort of theory is it? Since the 1940s, planning theory has come a long way, and at SCARP, a course on advanced planning theory for Ph.D. students is taught jointly by Leonie Sandercock and myself. Theory in planning can either refer to theories used in planning and of planning. Examples of the former are micro-economic, migration, theories of spatial structure and dynamic change, etc. Normally, however, when we speak of planning theory, we usually mean theories of or about planning, addressing such questions as:  What is the purpose or mission of planning? How is planning conducted in the public domain? How is it inserted into governance processes? What norms should guide planners? How can planning be made more democratic? How are planning decisions and structure plans best implemented? All of these questions not only form a subject for research but can also provide a normative basis for planning practice.

a) Most relevant course: PLAN 602, with Leonie Sandercock

b) Other closely related courses in SCARP:

c) Other closely related courses at UBC:

3. Planning Research. At present, I teach the Ph.D. Colloquium (PLAN 603) which is required of all doctoral students and must be taken twice for credit.