Assessing sustainability: testing planning practice

Analysis of the practice of planning is increasingly being used to develop planning theory, The papers by Roweis and Forester in the second issue of Environment and Planning D: Society and Space base analysis of planning practice on hermeneutic, linguistic, and phenomenological approaches, as an alternative to the technical -rational approach to planning theory, In the present paper, I argue that the approaches adopted by these two authors create more problems than they solve, and a critique of Roweis's and Forester's theoretical ideas is made, It is argued that these approaches rest upon idealist ontological assumptions, rendering explanation of qualitative change (development) impossible. Discussion of Giddens's concept of structuration and of the negative consequences for scientific explanation of Habermas's epistemological position is presented, as both approaches are used by Roweis and Forester. Criticism is also made of the separation of territorial relations from relations of substance. Finally, the serious consequences of their approaches for scientific and social practice are outlined. I conclude that this type of approach cannot provide a satisfactory basis for planning theory, and furthermore, that the approach is inherently conservative. Some ideas arc presented concerning planning theory based on materialist ontological foundations.

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Using green infrastructure to stimulate discourse with and for planning practice: experiences with fuzzy concepts from a pan-European, a national and a local perspective

Socio-Ecological Practice Research ◽

10.1007/s42532-021-00087-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Rieke Hansen ◽

Martina van Lierop ◽

Werner Rolf ◽

Damjana Gantar ◽

Ina Šuklje Erjavec ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Green Infrastructure ◽

Regional Cooperation ◽

Knowledge Exchange ◽

Stakeholder Involvement ◽

The Novel ◽

Planning Practice ◽

Regional Project ◽

Development Processes ◽

Guidance Documents ◽

Novel Concept

AbstractConcepts such as green infrastructure, nature-based solutions, and ecosystem services gained popularity in recent discourses on urban planning. Despite their recognition as innovative concepts, all of them share a degree of ambiguity. Fuzziness can be a weakness but also an opportunity to shape novel concepts together with the stakeholders that are supposed to implement them in the planning practice. The paper traces concept development processes of green infrastructure through transdisciplinary knowledge exchange in three different projects, a European and a national research project and a local city-regional project as part of an EU regional cooperation project. In all projects, the green infrastructure concept evolved in different stages. Stakeholder involvement during these stages span from consultation to co-creation. The cases reveal two different approaches: concepts that are developed “for planning practice” might be based on a plethora of insight via consultation, while those “with planning practice” foster co-creation and might result in high acceptance among the involved stakeholders. Depending on the purpose of the novel concept, each approach can be beneficial and result in practice-related and operational products, such as guidance documents or planning strategies. However, the cases also show that in any new context an exchange about fuzzy concepts is not only needed but also a chance to stimulate cooperation and joint understanding about urban challenges and how to address them.

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Better Planning Practice Lies in a Community-Based, Analysis-Informed Process

Journal of the American Planning Association ◽

10.1080/01944363.2021.1906606 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-3

Author(s):

Margaret Dewar

Keyword(s):

Community Based ◽

Planning Practice

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‘We need to put what we do in my dad’s language, in pounds, shillings and pence’: Commercialisation and the reshaping of public-sector planning in England

Urban Studies ◽

10.1177/0042098021989953 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 004209802198995

Author(s):

Jason Slade ◽

Malcolm Tait ◽

Andy Inch

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Built Environment ◽

Ethnographic Study ◽

Professional Identities ◽

Local Planning ◽

Planning Practice ◽

Neoliberal Governance ◽

Original Contribution ◽

Disciplinary Matrix ◽

Planning Authority

This article furthers understanding of how commercial imperatives are reshaping dominant conceptions of planning practice in England, and by extension the production of the built environment more widely. We make an original contribution by tracing the emergence of the logic of commercialisation in England, demonstrating how the impacts of austerity and ‘market-led viability planning’ have entrenched the ‘delivery state’, a powerful disciplinary matrix representing late-neoliberal governance. Through in-depth, ethnographic study of a local planning authority, we argue that commercialisation within the delivery state creates a distinct ‘economy of attention’, reshaping planners’ agency and professional identities, and the substance and scope of their work. The conclusion draws out wider implications of commercialisation for planning in and beyond the delivery state.

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Conceptualizing Mobility Inequality: Mobility and Accessibility for the Marginalized

Journal of Planning Literature ◽

10.1177/08854122211012898 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 088541222110128

Author(s):

Isti Hidayati ◽

Wendy Tan ◽

Claudia Yamu

Keyword(s):

Conceptual Understanding ◽

Thought Experiments ◽

Future Research ◽

Planning Practice ◽

Extrinsic Factors ◽

Research Directions ◽

Future Research Directions ◽

Intrinsic And Extrinsic Factors

The burgeoning landscape of literature on mobility inequalities has led to discrepancies between a conceptual understanding of mobility inequalities and its implementation in planning practice. Reviewing 270 publications across five decades, this article identifies intrinsic and extrinsic factors and approaches for understanding and analyzing mobility inequality. Using two thought experiments to critically locate variations in factors and approaches, dilemmas and challenges in addressing mobility inequality for the marginalized are exposed. The article concludes with future research directions for investigating mobility inequality.

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