Unfolding the Good

This book provides a framework for understanding and evaluating the notion of 'good' in urban planning, addressing its role in securing planning legitimacy and shaping urban development practice. It unfolds how the multilayered nature of good is defined in planning practice. By exploring the ethical dimension of what is considered good, the work offers a systematic approach to navigating the complex moral landscape of decision-making. At a moment when protests around the world increasingly highlight dissatisfaction with the displacement of public interest in favor of profit-driven agendas, this book provides a tool for critical assessment of practices and envisioning alternative, more just urban futures. Using case studies from Belgrade, Serbia, this book explores how 'good' is formed, identifying the aspects that guide value judgment about what is considered good. These aspects are perceived as magnetic poles of the ethical compass, interpreted here as a tool for comprehensive ethical orientation among the forces of power, public interest, justice, dialogue, morphology, and politics. The book establishes a theoretical framework for evaluating existing practice in conjunction with the multi-layered nature of good defined through different normative theories and approaches. It proposes a method for moving from evaluation to action by formulating recommendations to improve urban development practice. The specific cases examine typical spatial development practices by the private sector and the public sector in order to provide a basis for the evaluation framework, acquiring evidence-based answers, and demonstrating how recommendations can be defined. These insights support a theory-informed but practice-oriented framework useful to urban planners, policymakers, and researchers interested in the ethical dimensions of the practice of urban planning and development.