Commentary on the Absence of Experiments in Planning
- Sage, 2019.
- Vol 39, Issue 3, 2019(267-272 p.)
A recent review by Jacques Du Toit, Nelius Boshoff, and Niclesse Mariette finds that planners rarely use experimental research designs. This commentary examines why experimentation is rare in planning and discusses the legitimate challenges involved with conducting experiments in a planning context. In doing so, we aim to foster a discussion on the feasibility of conducting experimental research in our field. While not all planning policies are amenable to experimentation, we see untapped potential in many areas of planning, especially on questions of public engagement. Collectively we hope that planners can begin to identify more instances in which experimental research is possible.
causal inference, experiments field experiments, impact evaluation, evaluation, research design