With a whole heart : nurturing an ethic of caring for nature in the education of Australian planners

Abstract

This interdisciplinary dissertation addresses one aspect of the education of Australian urban planners: an ethic of caring for Nature, conceived as a deeply grounded, contextual, ethic based on a sense of connection with the natural world. It articulates what an ethica of caring entails, explores the current state of and' potential for the teaching of environmental ethics within Australian planning schools, examines fiom an ethical standpoint the educational implications of direct connection with Nature, and proposes the foundations for a radical curriculum for planning education to nurture an ethic of caring for Nature. Three pivotal assumptions underpin this research: that Australian urban development is contributing to both local and global ecological crises; that the activities of urban planners help to determine the form and style of urban development and, by implication, the ecological impacts; and that the education of urban planners influences their practice. I argue that a complete revisioning of Australian urban planning education is necessary to counter the entrenched anthropocentrism and utilitarianism which underpin both planning practice and education.