Everyday Ethics for Practicing Planners

by Carol Barrett

"This book is on the suggested reading list for planners preparing to take the AICP exam. As veteran planner the author points out, the most troublesome conflicts for planners aren't between good and bad, they're between competing good, neither of which can be fully achieved. The 54 real-world scenarios described here typify the tough moral dilemmas that confront today's practioners. The author offers planners a way to recognize the ethical conflicts...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1884829619
• ISBN13: 9781884829611
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 258 Pages
• Weight: 1.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.9" x 9.9"

Customer Reviews

Scenarios are the best way to learn!

Although this book uses/references the old AICP code of ethics, the situations detailed within its covers will always ring true for the practicing planner. Hopefully a new edition will be forthcoming with updated citations to the AICP code. Otherwise, excellent book, must read by practicing planners.

Should be a mandatory read for all planning students.

I found this book to be a great exercise in the study of ethics. I wonder, in fact, if the above reader has even seen the book. But I digress, the book itself reviews a number of real-world scenarios that eschew simple answers. Any reader working in planning or government in general will be able to quickly draw parallels to their own day-to-day issues. The book does a great job of detailing how one can approach work in an ethical manner, and helps readers take a step back and critically view their work and decisions on a regular basis. Some of the most helpful cases are the ones where there are no "right" answers; the author does an excellent job of helping to break the issue down, where possible, and make the choices that are the most appropriate, if not always the easiest. Given all the high profile legal cases surrounding ethics these days, it's a wonder books like these are not issued to planning students as they walk in the door.