PLANNING IN A COMPLEX SOCIETY

Planning in a Complex Society



Planning in a Complex Society

Introduction

            Spatial planning can be defined as the deliberation of what can happen or what should happen. It focuses on the relation and the effects that different practices and policies have across the region and formulates roles of place in a broader context. Spatial planning also emphasizes on the traditional planning for using land and presents a framework that provides guidelines for future policy and development interventions. Spatial planning has a wide range of theoretical underpinnings from the meta-theories. This locates it within a general social movement to middle range theory which attempts to set out what spatial planning is and how it works. According to communicative planning theory the key role of spatial planning is concerned with the inclusive mode of planning. It is also concerned with the redistribution and has an emphasis on discourse analysis which is a means for determining the relative outcomes for those with differential access to power. Communicative planning theory tends to create a critical discourse about the outcomes of spatial planning based on the key principles. The paper discusses the concepts of space, place, territory and their relevance to spatial planning as an analytical contribution to the changing role of planning. It further discusses the changes in the concepts and their relationships that need to be taken on board in our changing view of the role of spatial planning in society.

Discussion

Space, Place and Territory as Analytically Distinct Concepts

            The term space refers to the physical location. This underpins the concepts of place and territory, which relates to physical attributes. There are two main conceptual approaches to space. One sees it as abstract and the other sees it as real. The concept of absolute space is opposed by the approach which postulates that space exists only through definition of the things it contains, i.e. the space is relational. This distinction may seem abstract and far removed from the practicalities of planning. It is important to establish the relational quality of space which concerns us, even if the space exits outside of the right or not (Gerhard, 2006, 85).

Place is seen as a predominant socio-cultural perception and is an important element of social identity, either individual or collective. It can be termed as social geography. In an increasingly complex society, overlapping definitions of place identity exists, which are also individual and collective. The manifestation of these forms of social identity is termed as mind maps. Place is also a relational concept and is defined as the relationship that exists between the elements perceived in multiple ways through socio-cultural filters (John, 2006, 15).

Complex societies include wide diversification of socio-cultural groups and thus multiple mind maps and expressions of place identity exist for any specific space. This place- based form of social identity are often deliberately created or molded by institutions. For example, football teams operate at the local, city, national and increasingly international levels. Although the place is predominantly defined in socio-cultural terms, there ...