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This paper considers the use of planning methods in German planning practice against the background of the ‘communicative turn’. The debate about concepts of rationality in Germany as well as in other countries can be said to have resulted in the paradigm of communicative actor-oriented planning achieving at least the same standing as the analytical rationality of the classical expert-based planning model. The inconsistent use of the term method in research corresponds to empirical findings indicating that the term is used ambiguously in practice. Nonetheless, planning methods fulfil a number of functions in practice. The notion of a relatively clear division between ‘analytical-rational’ methods on the one hand and ‘communicative’ methods on the other hand was relativized by experimental investigations. The setting in which the methods are applied seems of more importance; even apparently ‘analytical-rational’ planning methods can be implemented in a more or less communicative fashion.

Taking into consideration the theory that the “Communicative Turn” in spatial planning is also visible in the planning methods used, this article discusses the Strategic Choice Approach (SCA) as a complex toolbox of planning methods, which has yet to gain significant currency in Germany. Following a short introduction to the central elements of the SCA, the international resonance of this approach in terms of planning theory and planning practice over the years is presented. Based on the material of quasi-experimental applications of the SCA in teaching modules, the approach is then compared with other planning methods as regards the significance of its rational, communicative and creative dimensions, and problems in its application are analyzed. The article closes with an outlook on increased and intensified potential uses of the SCA.English title: The Strategic Choice Approach: An Underrated Set of Methods for Spatial Planning in Germany