Planning Support Systems and Interdisciplinary Learning

Planning is both an interdisciplinary and a collaborative endeavour. A range of disciplines are
involved in planning, which arguably all have a specific frame through which they perceive
reality and address planning issues. Three main disciplinary frames can be discerned: analytical,
design and negotiation. Within this context, increasing usage is made of planning support
systems (PSS), which are integrated sets of tools, often digital, aiming to support different tasks
in the planning process. PSS arguably have the potential to support the planning process by
facilitating interdisciplinary learning processes, involving “frame reflection” by different
disciplinary actors. This paper studies this assumption through two case studies in which a PSS
was applied in an interdisciplinary setting. It was found that “frame reflection” (double-loop
learning) occurred in only one of the two case studies -and that this involved several frictions
between disciplines. In the other case study more practical forms of learning were found
(single-loop learning) – also valuable for planning. It is concluded that PSS have potential for
interdisciplinary learning, particularly where the impact analysis function and a shared spatial
language improve the quality of the dialogue. With regard to the latter, however, PSS should be
prevented from dominating the discussion as this is something which is particularly problematic
for stakeholders with a design frame. In future research, the role of local stakeholders in relation
to PSS and interdisciplinary learning could also be taken into account.