Ethics in Planning and Development

'Ethics in Planning and Development' provides a reader with a way of thinking systematically about the ethical dimensions of planning and development. It gives readers confidence that they can get beyond simply 'knowing what they like, approve of, or are happy with' in relation to individual issues. The book does not provide answers to specific ethical problems or a template for addressing them, nor does it provide textbook accounts of particular moral theories. Instead, its approach is to highlight four important dimensions of ethics in planning and development - being a professional; making decisions; the importance of contemplations and how we learn and develop. It argues for their significance by discussing utilitarianism, which it argues is an influential, superficially attractive, but seriously flawed, way of thinking about ethics. The book also examines various approaches which can be taken to raise ethical awareness. It concludes by illustrating how the considerations raised in the book are used in the professional lives of four people involved in planning and development.