Issue Generating Assessment: Bridging the Gap Between Evaluation Theory and Practice?

To bridge the gap between post-modernist planning theory and largely modernist planning practice it is necessary that post-modernist ideas are made practical. The gap between theory and practice is particularly evident in plan evaluation. This paper advances a systemic qualitative approach (the issue generating assessment) for evaluating planning alternatives in city and regional plans. The purpose of the IGA is to identify the main issues that should be deliberated, rather than to choose among the alternatives. An application of this approach in the Jerusalem District shows that while this approach is readily applicable, it will not lead to more meaningful deliberations in the absence of a suitable institutional context and planning culture.