| Abstract: | Older approaches to planning lack the capacity to be responsive to complexity. A new philosophy supporting a new mode of practice
could improve significantly the capacity of society to cope with complexity in design, planning, and policy making. The new
philosophy and practice must be generic; in other words, it must be divorced in its philosophy and approach from any particular
kind of planning activity. It must emphasize the capacity to enhance the work of groups in designing new conceptual structures
whether they be plans, policies, or tangible products.
John N. Warfield is University Professor and director of the Institute for Advanced Study in the Integrative Sciences at George
Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, 22030. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
and a recipient of the IEEE Centennial Medal in 1984. His booksSocietal Systems andA Science of Generic Design present theoretical and empirical results relevant to issues of coping with complexity. |
