ANNUAL CONGRESS 2025

Exploring the practices and perspectives of planning officers assessing applications for small-scale densification in suburban areas.

Not scheduled

20m

Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul

Oral Track 14 | ETHICS, VALUES AND PLANNING

Speaker

Dr Tatiana Moreira de Souza (University of Liverpool)

Description

For many decades, the rate of housing construction in England has consistently failed to meet the growing demand. Despite longstanding policies favouring a 'brownfield first' approach, significant densification in suburban areas remains elusive. Densifying suburbs presents a multifaceted challenge, requiring a balance between increasing housing supply and preserving the local character, infrastructure capacity, and residents' preferences. Drawing from semi-structured interviews with planning officers working in development management in local authorities in the North West and South East England, this paper examines their practices and perspectives in determining planning applications for small-scale incremental densification in suburban areas, including infill construction on vacant or oversized plots, subdivision of existing dwellings, and conversion of properties to residential use. By conceptualizing planning officers working in development management as both street-level bureaucrats (Lipsky, 2010), or frontline agents of the state with considerable discretionary power, and as situated agents (Bevir, 2013), influenced by unique contexts, experiences, and social positions, this paper explores their values and how they use of discretion to make sense of policies before putting them into practice and to mediate different interests in a context shaped by ambitious government targets to boost housing supply.

References:

Bevir, M. (Ed.), 2013. Theory of Governance, Studies in governance. GAIA Books, Berkeley, CA.

Lipsky, Michael., 2010. Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services, 30th anniversary expanded edition. Russell Sage Foundation, New York.

References

Bevir, M. (Ed.), 2013. Theory of Governance, Studies in governance. GAIA Books, Berkeley, CA.

Lipsky, Michael., 2010. Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services, 30th anniversary expanded edition. Russell Sage Foundation, New York.