What has becomes known in recent years as communicative or collaborative planning has forged a new hegemony in planning theory. Described by some as the paradigm of the 1990s, it proposes a fundamental challenge to the practice of planning that seeks both to explain where planning has gone wrong and (more controversially) to identify ways forward. The broad approach itself and advocates of it have lacked the advantage of any critique. This paper provides such an opportunity. Following a brief outline of communicative action, we identify three broad areas of concern that militate against the option of a collaborative planning approach. More specifically, we identify problematic assumptions in Habermas's original theoretical distinction of communicative action as a fourth separate concept of sociological action. Although we accept its useful dissection of planning and the role of values and consensus-building in decision-settings, we consider that collaborative planning theory fails to incorporate adequately the peculiar political and professional nuances that exist in planning practice. We conclude our critique by raising programmatic points for planning theory and practice in general.
I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Hilary Nixon. As my faculty advisor for this project, she provided an immense amount of support and encouragement as I navigated through this process. Hilary also took a genuine interest in my research topic, which inspired me to push myself further than I had ever intended.Lastly, I would also like to thank Victoria Sherman for all of the Saturdays over the summer, for all of the Mondays during the academic year, and for all of the encouragement along the way. vii viii 1 With children becoming a larger segment of fast food sales, it is a priority for the industry to locate near their target demographics. Further, a major focus of fast food marketing is now targeted toward this growing demographic, children and adolescents.2 This market segment spends an estimated $140 billion annually and influences an additional $200 billion of household spending.3 Given that twelve percent of U.S. household income is spent on food products, marketing and branding these products is a competitive necessity. 4 In an effort to build their brand, fast food franchises heavily market to children to develop brand loyalty at an early age because children can develop brand preferences by the age of two.5 Over ninety-five percent of fast food advertising is television-based, and the bulk of this advertising focuses on energy-dense or unhealthy food.6 A study by French, et al. concluded that the frequency of television watching was positively associated with the frequency of fast food restaurant use among children. The rate at which obesity has increased cannot be attributed to genetics changes alone, but rather to increased consumption of excess calories and decreased physical activity. 12Physical activity is impacted by urban form. Given that children consume the majority of their daily calories during school hours, examining the built environment in close proximity to schools is warranted.13 Schools, in an effort to generate new sources of revenue, enter into agreements with food manufacturers to supply food and beverages as well as advertise on school campuses.14 Further, schools with open campus lunch policies often compete for on-campus lunch revenues with off-campus fast food restaurants, referred to herein as the "secondary school food environment." 15 In an effort to generate revenue from on-campus food sales, campus cafeterias often provide similar unhealthful foods on-campus to compete with off-campus choices. 16 Thus, the concentration of fast food restaurants offcampus may also impact the healthfulness of on-campus choices and the youth's waistlines.This study examines the secondary school food environment in an attempt to determine if correlations exist between childhood overweight and obesity with the built environment. Limited research has shown that individuals that live in sprawling environments are more likely to walk less, weigh more, and have a higher incidence of hypertension than individuals living in dense urban environments. 17 This examination of the built environment's...
There has been a recent shift in England towards empowering citizens to shape their neighbourhoods. However, current methods of participation are unsuitable or unwieldy for many people. In this paper, we report on ChangeExplorer, a smart watch application to support citizen feedback, to investigate the extent to which digital wearables can address barriers to participation in planning. The research contributes to both technology-mediated citizen involvement and urban planning participation methods. The app leverages in-situ, quick interactions encouraging citizens to reflect and comment on their environment. Taking a case study approach, the paper discusses the design and deployment of the app in a local planning authority through interviews with 19 citizens and three professional planners. The paper discusses the potential of the ChangeExplorer app to address more conceptual issues, and concludes by assessing the degree to which the technology raises awareness of urban change and whether it could serve as a gateway to more meaningful participatory methods.
The election of the 'New Labour' government in the UK in May 1997 heralded the start of a new opportunity and era for politics. A determination to modernise the institutions of Britain, associated with a commitment to foster social justice and community with concern for the market, has created a new ethos within government. Led by a Prime Minister viewed as embodying vision and change, the government has started to amend 18 years of Conservative policies structurally, constitutionally and sectorally. The British planning system has changed very little in format and style since its statutory inception in the 1940s, and one would think that this institutional process is an obvious candidate for modernisation. But New Labour possessed very few ideas to amend planning while in opposition, and the proposals announced over the past 24 months that impact on planning suggest continuation rather than radical overhaul. This paper charts the legacy for New Labour in the elds of planning and environmental policy left by the outgoing New Right Major government, and additionally attempts to identify the political ideological ethos and history of policy development behind possible changes to planning. It outlines the major policy amendments announced to date and offers a perspective on the trajectory of planning under a New Labour administration in the years ahead.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.