Private Influence Preceding Public Involvement: Strategies for Legitimizing Preliminary Partnership Arrangements in Urban Housing Planning in Norway and Finland

Is There Space forBetterPlanning in a Neoliberal World? Implications for Planning Practice and Theory

“…In everyday public policy debates across the globe the capacity of public policy interventions, such as planning, to effect positive change has rarely appeared quite so constrained (see, for example recent studies in England, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Australia (Gunn and Hillier 2012, Hrelja 2011, Mäntysalo and Saglie 2010, MacCullum and Hopkins 2011. Currently in the United Kingdom (UK), more especially England 2 , planning faces stark challenges.…”

Residents, customers or citizens? Tracing the idea of youthful participation in the context of administrative reforms in Finnish public administration

“…It has been argued that administrative reforms may thus have a much larger impact on the future of civic participation and democracy than specific projects aiming at improving participation and democratic practices (e.g. Aberbach & Christensen, 2005;Hirst, 2000;Mäntysalo & Saglie, 2010;Skelcher & Torfing, 2010;Torfing, Soerensen & Fotel, 2009).…”

“…Despite several waves of administrative reforms, normative steering can still be identified in Finnish public administration (Bäcklund & Mäntysalo, 2010;Hiironniemi, 2005;Mäntysalo & Saglie, 2010;Puustinen, 2006). It emphasizes the role of strong legislation and bureaucratic practices in serving the inhabitants on equal and just terms (Callahan, 2007;du Gay, 2000), which has been a central normative issue in the construction of the modern Nordic Welfare State (e.g.…”

“…Constitution, Municipal Act, Land Use and Building Act, Youth Act). In parallel with developing participation methods, public administrations in Finland and elsewhere have undergone sizeable and constitutive administrative reforms with diverse ideological underpinnings (Beveridge, 2012;Hajer, 2009;Kronsell & Bäckstrand, 2010;Mäntysalo & Saglie, 2010;Miller & Rose, 2008;Sager, 2009). …”

“…7 cultures and place-bound specificities (e.g. Friedman, 2005;Häkli & Kallio, 2014a;Mäntysalo & Saglie, 2010;Sager, 2009). …”