MISTAKEN INTERESTS AND THE DISCOURSE MODEL OF PLANNING

Identifying the interests of client groups is obviously vital for good planning. Yet, the accurate identification of people's interests, esp ecially in relation to ''quality-of-life'' issues, involves complex ju dgments; mistaken judgements of interest are therefore always likely. This paper explores this problem by clarifying the different kinds of mistaken interest judgements we can make and discussing how such mista kes may be minimized in relation to planning. The suggestions presente d for minimizing mistaken interest judgements-suggestions about ration al deliberation and the collective discussion of interests-further sup port what I term the ''discourse model'' of planning, which has emerge d in planning theory in recent years. The paper also draws some implic ations for the methodology of empirical research into people's interes ts, and concludes by connecting the discussion with the idea of delibe rative democracy.