Track 1: Planning Theory and Methods

Track Co-Chairs
Heather J Campbell, University of Sheffield
Kimmo Lapintie, Aalto University School of Science and Technology

Since planning is very much concerned with the organization of space, theorizing of space is either explicitly or implicitly at the core of planning theory. In urban, regional, national and global contexts, space is not an empty container but a complicated mixture of social and political relations and meanings. The contemporarty urban situation is full of spatial dilemmas: from gated communities with their luxury golf courses, to illegal immigrants trying to cross national borders in the hope of a better future. The future of the city and its relationship to other spatial scales is central to European thinking. We are facing the impacts of ever increasing inequalities in income and wealth, as well as the evolution of the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural city on which our aging nation states have become dependent. These developments are leading to challenges, tensions and confrontations. At the same time planning policies have seen a return to a focus on the traditional, compact European city, while increasing suburbanization and urban sprawl driven by the housing market and local politics, produce opposite results. Space is (small) luxury even for the middle classes.

Planning theory has in recent decades concentrated on analyzing the interplay of power and politics, with more normative approaches concerned with the democratization of planning process, more particularly the ideals of transparency and open communication as well as substantive issues concerned with justice. The objective of the track is to explore the interplay between analytical and normative theorizing with a focus on the implications for place-based outcomes and spatial relationships: what are the relationships between space and time in planning and development; what are the limits and degrees of freedom for the various stakeholders; who benefits and who should benefit from planning policies; what are the nature of the relationships between substance and process in planning theory? It is clear that tackling these questions also requires a rethinking of planning methods. What kind of knowledge is needed, and how should it inform our action? How can we conceptualize and visualize the emerging urban and regional context? Are our traditional methods in managing the planning process and enabling communication between different stakeholders sufficient in the face of ever growing inequalities and cultural differences?

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