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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.

There is a wide consensus that planning should solve spatial problems and therefore the definition of real problems should take place at the beginning of the planning process. This article ...

In dem Beitrag geht es um die Frage, in welchen Phasen des politischen Planungsprozesses Planende ihr methodisches Handwerkszeug einsetzen. Dazu werden Ergebnisse eines Forschungsprojekts vorgestellt, die vor allem im Rahmen einer Auswertung von in Fachzeitschriften dargestellten Planungsfallen gewonnen wurden. Zunachst wird dargelegt, welches Modell des Planungsprozesses die betrachteten Falle am besten widerspiegelt und wie sich dieses zu Modellen des politischen Prozesses verhalt. Sodann wird analysiert, welche Arten von Planungsmethoden in den einzelnen Planungsphasen eingesetzt werden. Die zentralen Ergebnisse: Planungsprozesse sind zwar komplex, viele lassen sich aber in einem linearen Modell mit uberwiegend einfach Ruckkopplungsschleifen durchaus abbilden. Planende sollten beim methodischen Handwerkszeug darauf achten, dass auch in Zeiten des communicative turn nicht nur kommunikative Methoden eingesetzt werden, sondern auch klassische analytisch-rationale Methoden erhalten bleiben. Sie helfen vor allem beim Verstandnis des politischen Prozesses vor und nach der eigentlichen Planungsphase.

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