Paul Davidoff's Psychodynamic Approach

Paul Davidoff (1965), defined city planning as a policy-making method and presented “advocacy and pluralism” in planning which not only focus on the process of planning, but on the desired outcomes including social goals such as equity. He considered the prospect of planning as “a practice which openly invites political and social values to be examined and debated” (p. 331). Hence, he rejected the exclusively expert role of planners in the rational planning approach as he believed that solutions pertaining to social goods “cannot be technically derived; they must arise from social attitudes” (p. 331). In his perspective, planning is a political process and planners should advocate the interests of all groups who are concerned with planning decisions – to establish “urban democracy” and enable citizens to play a role in the decision-making process (p. 332).
For Davidoff (1965), “[p]luralism in support of political contention describes the process; advocacy describes the role performed by the professional in the process” (p. 333). The advocate planner would take the responsibility of the entire planning process for his client. He continued that pluralism and advocacy are to consider the future of all people – particularly the disadvantaged who are in need of the planners’ assistance (pp. 333-334).
Davidoff (1965)
193-195). She gave an overview of the concept of multiculturalism – she preferred interculturalism – and how to deal with it as a contemporary urban reality for “living together and bridging vast cultural differences” (p. 224). Her answer was “intercultural contact and interaction is a necessary condition for being able to address the inevitable conflicts that will arise in multicultural societies” (p. 198). In her point of