Research article
-
Although some researchers have addressed the question of what motivates citizens to become involved in lower tier planning in the UK, the phenomenon is not yet fully understood. A lack of hard data, combined with some mutually contradictory arguments in the field, makes for imperfect analysis, and this can potentially undermine the effectiveness of individual engagement in Neighbourhood Plans (NPs). This paper focuses on what motivates citizens to participate in the process of creating NPs in North West England, and explores past theories on individual motivation. This study achieved its...
-
Participatory planning is a way planners can gather valuable information and improve the planning process. To engage citizens in participatory approaches, planners should explore new interactive methods. Combining drawing as a communication activity, and games as an engaging approach can be one of the participatory methods. We propose to explore games that planners can use as tools for this purpose. We searched for analogue games with core drawing mechanics, where planners could learn how to build their serious games. Board Game Geek (BGG) allowed us to explore the most...
-
There is increasing awareness in the planning community of the need for planning methods that can work with the complex and uncertain issues that characterise contemporary planning contexts. Through a case study of platsutveckling [place development] in south-west Sweden, this paper explores the potential of a post-structuralist planning perspective as one way forward in approaching uncertainty and complexity in planning. Platsutveckling is an approach to place development planning in the context of regional development, implemented by the Swedish regional government...
-
As Greece was in lockdown, the Greek cities resembled ghosts, and their cityscapes reminded us of dystopian movies. Empty streets and motorways, people afraid to go outside, and an uneasy cloud hanging above, encapsulating the minds of people living in these unprecedented times.
Space is inherently connected with infectious diseases. In this context, the pandemic crisis posed new challenges to how we perceive and interact with space, both indoors and out. So, the aim of this article is twofold: to discuss whether the relationship with space has changed due to Covid-19 and the...
-
The difficulties in tackling COVID-19 have shown with unparalleled strength the need to acknowledge alternative epistemologies in planning. Pandemic responses that seem to have been met with relative success were based upon the guidance, knowledge, and embodied experience of communities on the ground. While some recognize the key role of alternative or ‘non-expert’ knowledge in addressing current planning challenges, most have struggled to broaden their definition to include different ways in which community-based organizations generated data, shared knowledge, collaborated with other...
-
The Smart City concept is often debated in academic, corporate, and institutional spheres, highlighting its conceptual model variations and technological interests. Many cities have decided to implement the Smart City concept as another development strategy with the vision of growth and efficiency enhancement. Such strategy refers to an extra instrument, in many cases, for bridging technological-based solutions with urban development. However, a social aspect is increasingly considered as the missing piece in the Smart City concept. This paper examines the presence of socio-economic...
-
Planning scholars use complexity perspectives to account for unpredictable societal circumstances in an uncertain and changing world. Questions emerge not only about how planning communication and action can transform but more so about the planner’s ability to navigate the complex relational dynamics of planning. To move forward, we use Gilles Deleuze’s concept of assemblage thinking to frame spatial planning as a continually changing multiplicity of diverse entities and emerging dynamic relations among them. Niklas Luhmann’s social systems theory then helps to promote a perspective on...
