An Alliance Confirmed Planning Literature and the Social Sciences

Abstract While it has always been clear that planning and the social sciences are closely related, it has been less apparent how much planners draw on the social sciences in their work, and how much planning gives back to the social sciences. One way to determine the role and importance of economics and other disciplines in planning is through a study of the scholarly literature used and produced by planners. In this article, a possible core set of planning journals is identified and a study of its bibliometric characteristics presented. It is shown that the information sources used in the academic planning literature have moved away from sociology and towards economics. This literature also shows no connection with the literature of the design professions.