Uncovering the Unconscious Dimensions of Planning

Using Culture as a Tool to Analyse Spatial Planning Practices

Frank Othengrafen

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9781409435594
• eBook ISBN:
  9781317005346
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: Law Theory & Practice
• Index: Law

If planning is understood to be about the nature of place, about the way in which we use land, and about the physical expression of the ordering of society, then it becomes apparent that planning as an activity cannot possibly be divorced from the general cultural traditions that inform it. By adopting theoretical approaches from the fields of management studies, cultural studies and anthropology, and by using culture as an organising principle, this book develops an innovative framework which provides better insights into what culture is about, what the relations are between culture and planning and how culture influences planning practices. It introduces a 'culturised planning model', consisting of the analytical dimensions: 'planning artefacts', 'planning environment' and 'societal environment', with which to discover the unconscious routines and assumptions, emotions and meanings attached to planning systems and the different concepts used in spatial planning systematically. The model offers the possibility of uncovering cultural phenomena in spatial planning by providing relevant cultural dimensions and potential specifications and indicators which has not been the case so far. By comparing examples of German, Finnish and Greek planning habits, the book illustrates cultural influence in planning and provides the readership with a feedback between the micro (experiences of planners) and the macro level (institutional and social context) as well as a more systematic comparison based on cultural values, attitudes, norms and rules.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Maps
• List of Tables
• Preface
• 1 Introduction: Why Study Planning Culture? Planning Culture as a Determinant of Planning Practices
• PART I: THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYSING CULTURES
• PART II: EMPIRICAL STUDIES OF PLANNING PRACTICE
• PART III: GENERALISATION OF THE RESULTS – DEDUCTION OF A THEORETICAL MODEL FOR THE SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS OF PLANNING CULTURES
• References
• Index