Speaker
Description
Planning theory literature has changed signfiicantly since the emergence of planning theory as a subdiscipline. In recent decades, the literature has moved away from big conceptual turns and 'grand theories.' But what has it moved towards? This paper originates from the author team's interest in the question: what has planning theory research focused on in recent years? What are key streams of debate and how has the theoretical landscape evolved?
The project is to conduct a literature review of key planning theory publications. More precisely, we aim to identify the questions and themes dominant in planning theory publications in the last decade and a half. By analysing all papers published since 2010 in two key journals of planning theory (Planning Theory and Planning Theory and Practice), we allow for a quantitative and qualitative review of themes, theoretical foundations, shifts in discourses as well as the use and development of theories. We first try to understand what questions scholars have asked that actively engage planning theory scholarship and, second, to understand current trends in the use and development of planning theories. Complemented by a quantitative analysis, this qualitative analysis also identifies texts which have been influential in shaping the debate. Altogether, the research considers more than 1000 articles, commentaries, reviews and opinion pieces, with an in-depth analysis of 56 articles. Through this analysis, we hope to summarise the contemporary debate and provide a sense of what planning theories deem important for planning practice and research.
This article is being developed in the context of an International Working Group established by the Academy of Territorial Development in the Leibniz Association, entitled: “Beyond the process – Finding common ground for a discussion on planning’s substantial foundation."
| Keywords | Planning Theory; Planning Theory and Practice; Planning Journals |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | No |
