The Rational Planning Approach in Public Art Production: Evaluating the Quality of Urban Sculpture Plans in Shanghai

Abstract

This paper proposes a theoretical framework for public art plan quality evaluation and critically examines its limitations. The argument is twofold. First, the proposed framework embodies a rational planning approach to public art planning, which caters to both traditional and utilitarian types of public art, and advocates creating an environment conducive to social practice art. This framework largely applies to countries with strong rational planning systems like China. Second, while China’s urban sculpture planning system possesses strengths in terms of policies, it is weak when it comes to addressing public participation, implementation, and interorganizational coordination. That said, the plans as realized are highly influenced by individual planners and some of them excel in these areas of broader systemic weakness.