Wicked Problems in Social Policy
Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning
HORST W. J. RITTEL
Professor of the Science of Design, University of California, Berkeley
MELVIN M. WEBBER
Professor of City Planning, University of California, Berkeley
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Societal problems are wicked problems
The kinds of problems that planners deal with are inherently
different from problems that scientists/engineers deal with
– Ill-defined
– Rely upon elusive political judgment for resolution
Social problems are never solved. At best they are only re-solved-
over and over again.
The problems that scientists and engineers have usually focused
upon are mostly "tame" or "benign" ones; for example:
The organic chemist analyzing structure of an unknown compound;
The chess player attempting to accomplish checkmate in five moves.
Wicked problems, in contrast, have neither of these clarifying
traits; and they include nearly all public policy issues-whether the
question concerns the location of a freeway, the adjustment of a
tax rate, the modification of school curricula, or the confrontation
of crime.
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Ten Attributes of a Wicked Problem
There is no definitive Wicked problems do not have an
formulation of a wicked enumerable (or an exhaustively
problem describable) set of potential solutions,
Wicked problems have no nor is there a well-described set of
stopping rule permissible operations that may be
Solutions to wicked incorporated into the plan
problems are not true-or- Every wicked problem is essentially
false, but good-or-bad unique
There is no immediate and Every wicked problem can be
no ultimate test of a solution considered to be a symptom of
to a wicked problem another problem
Every solution to a wicked The existence of a discrepancy
problem is a "one-shot representing a wicked problem can
operation"; because there is be explained in numerous ways. The
no opportunity to learn by choice of explanation determines the
trial-and-error, every attempt nature of the problem's resolution
counts significantly The planner has no right to be wrong
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