Journal of Planning Education and Research, Ahead of Print.
We surveyed transportation students and the U.S. public to explore consensus and divergence in policy preferences. We find considerable agreement among planning students, which may be a strength—it is easier to pursue shared goals—or a weakness—too much consensus can lead to echo chambers and disconnection. Engineering students and the public shared some planner-preferred views (like expanding transit) but disagreed with planning students about the role of transportation and appropriate policy tools, especially road widening. Our results suggest that diverging policy preferences are, at least in part, a reflection of planning’s signature pedagogy.