Speaker
Description
Planning systems can be described as an amalgamation of legal structures, power relations, governance dynamics, and undoubtedly, a network of various actors affecting the form and function of the built environment. Planning systems are the main instrument with which governments control and manage development. For many planning practitioners and theorists in the Global North, considering planning systems as legal structures often suggests that a well-defined framework with foreseeable outcomes guides the governance of urban development. However, many studies and considerable evidence from practice show that in many countries of the Global South, the legal structure of planning systems demonstrates entirely different mechanisms – often leading to unanticipated outcomes. As understanding the intricacies of power relations in planning systems of the Global South is becoming an enigma for planning theorists and practitioners, significant efforts have been made to conceptualise these contexts by “seeing from the South” (see e.g. Wattson, 2009; Roy, 2005). Describing such planning environments as conflicting rationalities is merely one perspective towards Southern, top-down, informality-dominated, uncertain, and poorly governed planning systems.
In line with current enquiries on Southern planning systems, this paper focuses on one of their substantial aspects, which outlines a factual legal landscape of such planning systems: the rule of law. The rule of law provides a contextually realistic picture of the extent to which the planning system is managed by laws and regulations, in addition to providing theorists and practitioners with an a priori perception of the planning legal setting. In this respect, this article investigates the Iranian planning system by highlighting examples from real-world projects and planning events to present its particularities and illustrate how different degrees of rule of law (RoL) affect the power dynamics and consequently the outcomes of planning processes. To evaluate the Iranian planning system in terms of RoL, a thin definition (Rodriguez, 2010) of RoL has been employed to avoid value judgments and generalizations of Northern institutional and fundamental values, which are often equated to universal definitions of substantial RoL (Versteeg & Ginsburg, 2017). The findings of the research suggest that most planning systems in the global South are greatly defined by weak rule of law, and therefore, non-legal authority, and other informal types of power, are the main avenues of practicing power for those involved in the planning process. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on the Global South and offers valuable insights for policymakers, planners, and researchers interested in promoting equitable and sustainable development in these regions. The paper concludes with recommendations for adapting the planning system to the weak rule of law in the South.
References
Rodriguez, D. B., McCubbins, M. D., & Weingast, B. R. (2010). The rule of law unplugged. Emory Law Journal, 59(6), 1455-1494.
Versteeg, M., & Ginsburg, T. (2017). Measuring the Rule of Law: A Comparison of Indicators. Law & Social Inquiry, 42(1), 100–137. doi:10.1111/lsi.12175
Ananya Roy (2005) Urban Informality: Toward an Epistemology of Planning, Journal of the American Planning Association, 71:2, 147-158, DOI: 10.1080/01944360508976689
Why India Cannot Plan Its Cities: Informality, Insurgence and the Idiom of Urbanization, Ananya Roy, Planning Theory 2009 8:1, 76-87
Taheri Tafti, M. (2024). Capturing planning: Politics of land based accumulation in Tehran. Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/23996544241226920
| Keywords | Rule of Law; Planning System; Globa South; |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
