Out of the Closet: The Importance of Stories and Storytelling in Planning Practice

Abstract

This article argues that story has a special importance in planning that has neither been fully understood nor sufficiently valued. Planning is performed through story, in a myriad of ways. The aim here is to unpack the many ways we use story: in policy, in process, in pedagogy, in critique, as a foundation, and as a catalyst for change. A better understanding of the work that stories do can make us better planners in at least three ways: by expanding our practical tools, by sharpening our critical judgment and by widening the circle of democratic discourse.

The Legacy of Positivism and the Emergence of Interpretive Tradition in Spatial Planning

“…Interpretive planning considers places as created through imaginative visioning, learning and storytelling (Sandercock, 2003). Methods such as these are seen as a way of expressing identity and belonging.…”

Defining and Managing the Historic Urban Landscape: Reflections on the English Experience and Some Stories from Liverpool

“…Heritage has thus been interpreted and reinterpreted in an evolving process. Protection and conservation of heritage has evolved from a concern with specific sites and structures whose value was determined by experts often in relation to national significance and foundational stories (Sandercock, 2003) to encompass wider urban ensembles and landscapes whose value is determined through a more open and diverse definitional process, more receptive to attributing value and significance to sites, structures and places associated with everyday life, regional, local and distinct/minority cultures and groups. Whether shifts in conceptualisations 'in theory' and a number of non-statutory government publications have always been reflected as strongly in conservation and heritage management in practice is perhaps less certain.…”

Rijksprojecten: hét natuurinclusieve werken? : een analyse van relaties tussen rijksprojecten en de Rijksnatuurvisie

“…Dergelijke verhalen worden gekarakteriseerd door een specifieke discursieve constructie met een samenhangende verzameling van concepten, toegepaste criteria en belangrijke karakters en gebeurtenissen (Hajer, 2005;Sandercock, 2003). Een succes-of faalverhaal is onderdeel van een continu veranderende discursieve omgeving, waarin het verhaal wel of niet gerelateerd kan worden aan de criteria, concepten, karakters en gebeurtenissen van andere discoursen Van Assche et al, 2012.…”