A case for engaged research and practice

Abstract This chapter describes why it is challenging to understand and solve wicked problems through a theoretical lens. The author uses theory from urban planning and applied social sciences to peel back the ways in which we can affect change. Universities cannot rely on ineffective techniques of change stemming from rational and positivistic ways of knowing. Universities can move from theoretical purity toward productive action when they include multiple forms of knowledge, including different disciplines, and community voices. Including multiple forms of knowledge and working together is even more urgent as communities face disasters and a changing climate.