Using social capital to help integrate planning theory, research, and practice - Preface

This symposium presents selected contributions to two panels held at recent Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) conferences to explore the potential usefulness to planning of the concept of social capital. Its purpose is to stimulate for readers of the journal the kind of lively and fruitful discussion enjoyed by those who attended the conferences. The contributors summarize the development of the concept and consider alternative definitions of it. This lays the foundation for a broad conversation about whether and how planners can invest in social capital formation in ways that will improve the well-being of the disadvantaged. Mirroring the conference panels, the authors use the interplay of concept development and practical examples to test and illustrate the possible usefulness of different ideas about what social capital is. They discuss why it is important and how it functions in society.