ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT POLITICS, MANDATES TO PLAN, AND PROFESSIONAL PLANNERS: THE DIALECTICS OF DISCRETION IN PLANNING PRACTICE

This paper argues that mandates to plan emerge under varying sets of circumstances, and that the specific political and economic features associated with particular mandates shape the practice of planning. A case study of the early implementation of the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area Act suggests that environmental movement activists, such as those involved with the Columbia Gorge, who worry about industry capture of planning and implementation processes, seek detailed, highly specific mandates that will minimize the discretion available to practitioners. However, conflict engendered by government and industry resistance creates a space within which planners can shape a practice pattern containing a much larger discretionary sphere. The performance standards approach that evolved in this case embodies this outcome.