ANTHROPOCENTRIC PROBLEM SOLVING IN PLANNING AND DESIGN, WITH ANALYTIC HIERARCHY PROCESS

摘要

Planning in methodology is lagging behind the development of planning in theory, which is vying for anthropocentricity. The paper argues that analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is a methodology that is commensurate with planning theory in its recent reincarnation while it also retains desirable properties of the rational planning paradigm. The architecture of AHP is outlined, followed by examples of problem solving in land-use planning and design. Discussion of the application examples highlights AHP in relation to desired features of planning procedural theory in both the rational model and its alternative — the theory of communicative action. The paper is concluded with the implication for theory/method integration.