Planning rights and their Implications

Planning rights' (PRs) implications for planning theory and practice are traced in several directions. One explores the complex planning process, where PRs can link the micro-scale to the macro-level of theory and analysis. Another addresses the opposition between planning and property rights, which the concept of PRs resolves. For evaluation in planning, awareness of PRs implies revisions in theory and practice, balancing utilitarian-analytic with normative-dialogic approaches. Recognizing PRs also revitalizes the Public Interest. PRs have positive implications too for the meta-ethics of planning, integrating consequential-utilitarianism with value-based normative judgment. This will affect enacted planning practice and enable real application of professional ethics.