Questioning the Universality of Institutional Transformation Theories in Spatial Planning: Shopping Mall Developments in Palermo

Abstract

Theories about institutional transformation in spatial planning, although mainly based on the Anglo-Saxon context, have assumed a dominant role in planning research and theory as means to understand the transformations that have been restructuring planning systems in recent decades in the Western world and beyond. The article, looking at transformations of planning practice through the lenses of the concept of planning cultures, debates the utility of building 'universal' theories for spatial planning and advocates for the need for a de-provincialization of planning theories. This is done through a case-study approach applied to the history of the transformation of the retail system in a context characterized by the specificities of the Italian planning context and Southern European cities, namely: the planning processes for, and power relationships underlying, the first shopping malls opened in Palermo, Italy, since 2009 -some decades later than most of Western cities.

Comparative planning and housing studies beyond taxonomy

“…This remains in line with recent critiques of the dominance of the 'paradigms' approach to policy studies and comparison (cf. Getimis, 2012;Tulumello, 2015). In normative terms, understanding the trajectory of a supposedly 'old-fashioned' programme, such as the PER, can illuminate challenges that remain today remarkably similar for more 'advanced' policy schemes, such as the NGPH.…”

“…Recently, critiques of the dominance of taxonomic and linear approaches have emerged in the fields of planning and housing studies. In planning theory, doubts have been cast over the explanatory capacity of the concepts of paradigm and tradition (Getimis, 2012;Tulumello, 2015). The field of planning cultures emerged to contribute to the de-parochialisation of planning studies (Sanyal, 2005) in line with post-colonial approaches to urban studies (Roy, 2009;Robinson, 2011).…”

Questioning Planning, Connecting Places and Times: Introduction to the Special Issue

“…All in all, they contribute to the discussion on the travels of planning ideas by providing evidence that planning theories are enriched when, rather than explaining processes of 'evolution' of planning 'paradigms', they put the emphasis on patterns of transformation and conflictual coexistence of change and permanence (Getimis, 2012;Tulumello, 2015).…”

“…Post-colonialism has urged scholars and planners to question the limits of universal theories (Roy, 2009;Tulumello, 2015), and emphasise the peculiarities of places and times. However, for a praxis like planning, which is shaped at the intersection of theory and action, relentless post-colonialism can entail the risk of falling into the trap of particularism and localismconsider, for instance, how the 'West'/'South' divide often tends to be transformed from a normative idea of diffusion of developmental strategies to a rigid epistemological divide for explanatory theories.…”

Differences and connections: beyond universal theories in planning, urban, and heritage studies

“…The choice of the conference location was also part of the conference ideology. Palermo, both for its recent history and its location in Southern Europe, can itself be considered a place at the borderlands of urban theory (Tulumello, 2015). The five keynote speeches engaged the theme of 'differences and connections', and gave interesting inputs to the three themes of the conference: dialogues between planning theory and research, comparative studies, and heritage and the politics of local-global divide.…”