Towards a Feminist Code of Planning Ethics

The development of feminist approaches to disciplines and professions has become common. In ethics, the attention of such approaches is focused on caring, community and responsibility. Discussions in planning are centred on women's needs and experiences as well as more collaborative approaches to professional practice. This article draws on discussion in a focus group of self-identified feminist planners in Ontario, Canada, to suggest how a feminist planning ethics might be expressed in a professional code. Such a code would emphasize values grounded in relationships, addressing power imbalances, equity, nurturing an emphasis on process and the natural environment. The code would be developed using principles of participation, accessibility and diversity. Finally, its role in the planning profession would be to educate, raise consciousness, provide standards and respond to the question, 'what are planners and planning about?'.