If Only Planning Problems Were This Easy To Get Rid Of

I think I may have found one of the best explanations for why it is planners get taken to task all the time: Planning Problems Are Wicked.

Planning problems are not easy to solve, let alone figure out. In Rittel and Webber's article, "Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning," they outline what makes planning so difficult.

Let me present the list:
1. There is no definitive formulation of a wicked problem.
2. Wicked problems have no stopping rule.
3. Solutions to wicked problems are not true-or-false, but good-or-bad.
4. There is no immediate and no ultimate test of a solution to a wicked problem.
5. Every solution to a wicked problem is a "one-shot operation"; because there is no opportunity to learn by trial-and-error, every attempt counts significantly.
6. Wicked problems do not have an enumerable (or an exhaustively describable) set of potential solutions; nor is there a well-described set of permissible operations that may be incorporated into the plan.
7. Every wicked problem is essentially unique.
8. Every wicked problem can be considered to be a symptom of another problem.
9. The existence of a discrepancy representing a wicked problem can be explained in numerous ways. The choice of explanation determines the nature of the problem's resolution.
10. The planner has no right to be wrong. (If that isn't the truth than I don't know what is).

Considering that planning, to me, is essentially politics, (here is where my credo holds true: Planning: politics without being elected) it makes perfect sense that the problems planners face are wicked. You try hitting a moving target knowing that you only have one shot and that if you miss you will be horribly reprimanded and potentially booed in public (no one likes that).

The whole point of this article I think is to educate those out side of planning that as professionals, planners face a seriously difficult task in carrying out their duties while trying to make communities better. Everyone should read this article the next time they feel like badmouthing planning/planners.

I am feeling their pain now trying to work on my thesis, which is planning oriented. It has taken and is taking an incredible amount of time to gather all the information and to write, because this is a moving/changing target. Frustrating is all I can say.

Moral of the story: We need a Dorthy to click her heels and make this wicked problem melt away.