Minding the gap: questioning our strategy to bridge urban theory and practice

Explicit debates about theory-practice tensions have evolved over the past decades. Recently, there has been much focus on exposing the practical and theoretical shortcomings of deliberation (critique), lending urban scholars to call for new, enlightened ways of acting (vision). While this has brought about broader disciplinary awareness, many still struggle to respond to calls for more inclusive, collaborative, and reflexive actions. Why? In efforts to move this conversation forward, this paper calls into question this ‘critique and vision' strategy and proposes that planners consider approaching this debate with a ‘naming and anticipating' attitude instead.