PLAN 502
Week 3:
Utilitarianism/ Public
Interest
Housekeeping Items
 Sorry
for any confusion in my absence. We will
start getting back on track. I actually covered
the material for Week 2 as part of Week 1, so
we haven’t lost ground. I only wish we could
have gotten ahead and broken Week 4’s
readings into two components.
 The notes are up from the first week on my web
site – web.viu.ca/alexander2 under “Courses,”
as are today’s. The outline is, in addition, on
Plan Hub.
 I would like to send a test e-mail to see if people
get it, as people have not been getting my emails.
Housekeeping Items
 As
you know, hopefully, the deadline for the
major project has been pushed back to
October 14th.
 I’m sure there are questions about the
assignments, but we can take time in class
and I can meet with you individually. For the
comparison of policies, did anyone look into
Healthy Habitat? I know the main organizer
would be thrilled to have some help with
her research.
Housekeeping Items
 The
sky’s the limit – literally! I listed in the
course outline possible foci, but some
municipalities have even adopted “dark
sky” policies to try to preserve the ability of
urban dwellers to see stars, etc.
 Upcoming event: the film “Bikes vs. Cars” on
Wednesday, October 7th at 6:30 in Building
250, Room 125, by donation.
 Also: Sustainability Fair, October 8th 11:30 to
2 in the Library Quad.
Tough Chapter & Somewhat Dry
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The “public interest” in land use planning was
legitimized by the Town and Country Planning Act in
the UK (1947), the Euclid, Ohio vs. Ambler Realty Co.
(1926), and in Canada, between 1912 and 1922,
eight provinces passed enabling legislation to
permit municipalities to produce plans and bylaws.
Is the concept of the public interest really just a fig
leaf that doesn’t provide a real standard against
which decisions or standards can be evaluated?
As we will see there are different conceptions of
interests. Edmund Burke and Marx believed in
objective, unattached interests. For instance,
workers supposedly have interests, even if they
aren’t aware of what they are.
Chapter on Utilitarianism/ the Public Interest
 What
about the impact of post-modernism?
Whereas modernism assumed there was one
truth, one common narrative, one common
interest (this was true of capitalism, communism,
and Christianity), post-modernism says that that
‘truth’ is all relative to where one sits – to one’s
culture, ethnicity, race, gender, sexual
orientation, etc. In essence, it challenges the
premises of The Enlightenment.
 If we abandon the notion of the ‘public
interest,’ the authors argue that we have to
wrestle with the same issues under a different
heading. John Dewey (1859-1952) believed
there are common interests that can only
clarified through discussion.
Chapter on Utilitarianism/ the Public Interest
 Postmodernism
is… “skeptical of explanations
that claim to be valid for all groups, cultures,
traditions, or races, and instead focuses on
the relative truths of each person…. In the
postmodern understanding, interpretation is
everything; reality only comes into being
through our interpretations of what the world
means to us individually.”
 Is this something you accept? What do you
think? It should be pointed out that the
influence of it has declined in recent years.
Chapter on Utilitarianism/ the Public Interest
Modernism was associated not only with
communism, but also with ‘progressive’ social
policy in the developed West. It was seen as the
role of progressive policy and planning
professionals to improve social ills – for instance, to
provide better housing, or, alternatively, to provide
professional advice to politicians.
 The latter was premised on the influence of
positivism (truth derived from sense experience
and research, as interpreted by reason). No room
for intuition or instinct. Planning a science, not an
art or craft.
 There would be a separation of means and ends.
The politicians would define the ends and the
planners would choose the best means of
attaining those ends.
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Chapter on Utilitarianism/ the Public Interest
 It
was also associated with the notion that there
are certain infrastructural goods that are in
everyone’s interest, but that no one wants to
pay for (the free rider phenomenon).
Examples?
 When do politicians have to override the
majority, including with Not In My Back Yard
(NIMBY) groups, and make unpopular
decisions?
 How do we distinguish between general
interests and selfish or particularistic interests
masquerading as the latter? What are some
examples?
Chapter on Utilitarianism/ the Public Interest
As several studies, such as Meyerson and Banfield
(1955) and Alshuler (1965) showed, the planners were
often far from disinterested and, even when their
intentions were good, good intentions often led to you
know where. Planners are not value-free.
 A good example
was the high rise
development for
poor people, PruittIgoe, in St. Louis.
It became so dysfunctional within a few years
it had to be dynamited.
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Chapter on Utilitarianism/ the Public Interest

The authors define an interest as involving:
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concern with or attention to somewhat (examples?)
having a stake in something?
with respect to the latter, even ‘amenities’ – such as
ecosystems – can have a stake
o Different philosophers of interest/utility --- for
instance, Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), who
defined utility/ interest as subjective and involving
pleasure vs. pain. What would this mean?
[Parenthetically, how does one create a calculus
of pleasure and pain?]
 Who gets hurt to facilitate other people getting their
pleasure? The authors argue that the state has a
role in “ensuring that the individual’s pursuit of
private pleasure is consonant with the collective
good…”
Chapter on Utilitarianism/ the Public Interest
 Bentham’s
broader philosophy of utilitarianism is
that governments should strive for a condition of
the “greatest good for the greatest number.” It
fell to governments to enforce the common
good. Are we achieving that in North America
today? Any significant differences between the
U.S. and Canada?
 Or James Madison (1751-1836), one of the
drafters of the U.S. Constitution and fourth
President of the United States, who defined
interests as plural, attached, and subjective. Each
representative in the Congress was to represent
only his constituents. Like Bentham, Madison
believed that interests are subjective.
Chapter on Utilitarianism/ the Public Interest
 More
recently, the modernist narrative
has been about growth. Growth would
lead to more individual opportunity,
social justice, and even enhanced
environmental quality. This particular
narrative is coming under scrutiny. Why
is this so?
Frank Ney,
 By the 1980s, planners’ roles had
former mayor
changed to that deal-makers – trying
to broker deals between citizens,
politicians, and developers, often in the
context of what has been called the
“growth machine.” Nanaimo has often
been a prime example.
Chapter on Utilitarianism/ the Public Interest
 The authors stress that utilitarianism ≠ libertarianism. Citizens can still be ‘other-regarding’ for
the needs of others, even while concerned
with their maximizing their own pleasure, and it
can still fall to governments to enforce the
common good.
 The shoe analogy can be used to either
support a subjective interests perspective or in
the service of the ‘experts know best.’ The
wearer knows where the shoe pinches, but the
shoe salesperson may know better than the
consumer what type of shoe is likely to be
more comfortable over the long run.
Chapter on Utilitarianism/ the Public Interest
 On the top of p. 121, matrix of different forms
of utilitarianism: outcome vs. procedurallyfocused, interest bases that are either
individual, collective or stakeholder-based,
and interests that are either objective,
subjective, or intersubjective. Some of these
may become more clear during our exercise.
 The authors argue for a unitary public interest
on the grounds that: a)the playing field needs
to be levelled; b)people may be mistaken
regarding their interests, and c)that there are
collective interests that transcend private
interests and that must apply across the board.
Chapter on Utilitarianism/ the Public Interest
 This does not preclude participation and
deliberation. Different claims to value conflict,
and politics is the means to resolving and
achieving a ‘higher’ interest.
 A de-ontological approach focuses on rights,
fairness, and justice, not outcomes. More
specifically, the right of everyone to be
considered fairly and equally in the planning or
policy-making process, and for the process be
completely transparent.
 Even if decision-makers don’t go with the
majority, it is important that the latter have had
“the right to be heard.”
Chapter on Utilitarianism/ the Public Interest
 Rights
are not policy instruments for collective
policy goals, just a principle for individual duty or
entitlement. Rights can be used to perpetuate
inequalities. They can be used against collective
values.
 Jürgen Habermas (1929- ) takes a dialogical
approach of wanting to create “an ideal
speech situation” where people have to justify
their assertions and value norms rationally. If they
can’t do so, then they lose credibility. Some
argue that this isn’t where the real power resides,
and that it will only influence things at the local
level at best.
Chapter on Utilitarianism/ the Public Interest
John Dryzek takes a looser view – not everyone
needs to be involved (as long all relevant groups
are represented), and people must be
communicatively competent.
 Patsy Healey’s viewpoint is that dialogue sets us on
a journey, not a destination. Others are skeptical of
the possibility of achieving consensus, and note
that there can be no process without content.
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“…the distinguishing hallmark of planning is its concern
for strategically linking multiple policy areas and
decision fields across space and though time…. Given
the unequal distribution of rights, resources of all kinds
and, hence, power, negotiation, bargaining, trade-offs,
strategic argumentation and other competitive
practices, which do not meet the requirements of
discursive argumentation, are an intrinsic part of the
process.”
Positive Example In False Creek South
 For
the past four years, there is an
organization – Re*Plan – organizing the
neighbourhood and seeking to re-extend
land leases and develop a new land use
plan for the neighbourhood on an equal
footing with the City.
 It helps that the organization contains
several planners and architects, and that
it is taking an interest-based approach to
negotiation.
Exercise
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I would like to break you up into seven groups to
discuss specific issues relating to the ‘public
interest,’ conflicting interests, and possible means of
resolving them.
Case 1: HPV is a sexually transmitted virus that can
affect up to three-quarters of sexually active
women. There is a vaccine that can eliminate the
chance of women ever getting the virus, and health
officials recommend administering it before girls
become sexually active. It was recently in the news
that the Catholic bishop of Prince George is
adamantly opposed to girls getting the vaccine –
one, because it violates parents’ rights, and two,
because abstinence is the better choice.
Exercise
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Case 2: Ontario is thought to have one of the most
radical sex education curriculums in the country. For
instance, in Grade 1, students are taught to “Identify
body parts, including genitalia, using correct
terminology. Recognize caring behaviours and
exploitive behaviours.” In Grade 3, they learn to
“identify the characteristics of healthy relationships,
including those with friends, siblings and parents.
Describe how visible differences, such as skin colour,
and invisible differences, including gender identity
and sexual orientation, make each person unique.
Identify ways of showing respect for differences in
others. Develop safety guidelines for Internet use.”
This curriculum is not popular with some parents.
Exercise
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Case 3: In late August, it was reported that at its
annual convention, the Canadian Medical
Association, “Canada’s doctors stopped short of
advocating for mandatory vaccinations for children
on Wednesday, calling, instead, for parents to
provide proof to school officials that their children
have been vaccinated.
A resolution passed at the Canadian Medical
Association’s annual general meeting in Halifax
called on governments to authorize elementary and
secondary schools to require parents to declare
their child’s immunization status.
The resolution called for public health officials to
have discussions with parents if their children are not
adequately immunized.”
Exercise
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Case 4: The Canada Line. Many businesses originally
thought the Line would be built using a bored
tunnel. Instead a “cut and cover” approach was
chosen from 64th to 2nd Avenues.
“This raised concern over the disruption of local
business on Cambie Street. Despite these efforts,
businesses on Cambie Street experienced significant
loss of business and a number of businesses went out
business. After numerous failed appeals to the
provincial government for compensation, store
operators unsuccessfully sued for compensation.
However, since the completion of the Canada Line,
the line has been linked to rising property values
along Cambie Street and in Richmond.”
Exercise
 Case
5: Should all neighbourhoods have the
responsibility for hosting rehabilitation facilities
and/or low-income housing facilities, even if
they don’t want them?
 Case 6: If a neighbourhood is zoned for higher
densities, up to and including towers, should
they be allowed to proceed, even if the
neighbourhood is overwhelmingly opposed.
 Case 7: In Vancouver, there is a neighbourhood
called First Shaughnessy where the City is taking
steps to make it very difficult to tear down
heritage houses – a worrying trend in recent
years. Some owners fear that this will cause a
decline in their property values.
Exercise – Questions to Address
 What
ethical issues/ questions of value are
involved?
 Who are the relevant stakeholders?
 What is the ‘public interest,’ if any?
 How can conflicting parties find common
ground, or should a public agency do what it
sees as in the public interest or take the most
legally responsible action?
 Take 25 minutes to start with and appoint a
spokesperson to report back to the class.
 If we have time, we can watch this video:
http://digital.films.com/PortalViewVideo.aspx?x
tid=4957