ournal of Planning Education and Research, Vol. 10, No. 1, 27-37 (1990)
DOI: 10.1177/0739456X9001000105
© 1990 Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning
The Chicago Area Transportation Study: A Case Study of Rational Planning
Alan Black

This case study of the Chicago Area Transportation Study during the late 1950s and early 1960s illustrates ex ecution of the rational planning model. The model is outlined in ten steps and the way the agency per formed each step is described. A fi nal section discusses staff attitudes in a research-oriented agency that emphasized rationality and avoided politics. The study shows that the rational model is workable but raises questions about whether it is effec tive in influencing decisions.