Paul Davidoff

Paul Davidoff (1930-1984) was a planning theorist responsible for the creation of the "advocacy planning" paradigm.

The American Planning Association presents the Paul Davidoff National Award for Social Change and Diversity annually to a project, group, or individual that has assisted the disadvantaged.

The Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning presents the Paul Davidoff Award every other year to an outstanding book publication. Of those awardees is Dolores Hayden for outstanding book in Urban Planning from the ACSP.

Founded the Suburban Action Institute in 1969. It challenged exclusionary zoning in the courts, winning a notable success in the Mt. Laurel case. This led to the requirement by the state supreme court of NJ that communities must supply their “regional fair share” of low-income housing needs. Developed the concept of “advocacy planner”, where a planner serves a given client group’s interest and should do so openly; a planner could develop plans for a particular project and speak for interests of the group or individuals affected by these plans.

Further reading

• Guide to the Paul Davidoff Papers, Cornell University Library
• Paul Davidoff Award, ACSP
• Planning.org

Persondata
Name	Davidoff, Paul
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1930
Place of birth
Date of death	1984
Place of death