The State of Metropolitan Planning: Decline or Restructuring?

Abstract

In this paper the dynamic relations between the state, society, and metropolitan planning are explored. The changing role and function of the state in the context of rapid restructuring of economic and social relations in Australia during the past decade are discussed, along with the impact of processes such as globalisation, cyclic recessions, and the growing assertion of local communities on the state. The influence of these processes on metropolitan planning, as an arm of the state which mediates between development interests and local communities, is then assessed from a theoretical perspective. Given the identified processes and changes, it is argued that metropolitan planning has become increasingly constrained in its ability to influence the nature and location of urban development in 1990s Australia. The validity of this argument is examined against the case of metropolitan planning in Perth during the past decade. Three key aspects of the changing nature of planning in Perth are studied in detail: A 1987 proposal for a new metropolitan strategy; a 1990 adopted metropolitan plan which derived from the 1987 proposal; and several redevelopment initiatives currently under consideration. It is concluded that the Western Australian state—and subsequently metropolitan planning—have experienced significant challenges to their ability to influence urban change. The constraints imposed on metropolitan planning are simultaneously due to economic pressures ‘from above’ and community pressures ‘from below’. Finally, it is observed that this process possesses a regresive potential, and that metropolitan planning should restructure in order to respond effectively and equitably to recent economic and social changes.

Modernist Town Planning And Metropolitan Planning: Reflections From Gordon Stephenson

“…The interview, together with historical evidence also showed that claims by Yiftachel and Alexander (1995), more so than Stephenson's views, overstate the degree of planning consensus that existed in Perth prior to the 1960s. Instead, we suggest that there was in the immediate post war period -characterised by industrial growth and an expanding middle class -a greater faith in a rational and science led path to development.…”

“…Yiftachel & Alexander (1995) contend that planning is a more contested terrain in the 1990s than it was forty years ago. Stephenson agrees, but then as chief planner he was able to gain ready access to the media in his quest for public support for planning.…”

Jews and Druze in Israel: state control and ethnic resistance

“…It has thus been argued that the modern state is currently 'under siege', being exposed to intensifying pressures both 'from above' by national and internationa l capital, and 'from below' from an increasingly politicized civil society, characterized by an ever-increasing number of community pressure groups (Taylor 1994;Yiftachel and Alexander 1995). These pressures are gradually limiting the ability of the state to implement its policies, including its spatial plans and developm ent programmes.…”

Identifying urban boundaries: application of remote sensing and geographic information system technologies

“…Instigated by financial deregulation and spawned by increasing levels of international and national market competitions, changes to the modes of production, accumulations, and economic relations have induced a restructuring of the division of labour on a global scale. This economic restructuring is causing major sectoral changes mirroring a marked decline in manufacturing employment, a sharp rise in servicerelated industries and with it a change in the commuting and settlement patterns of the labour force (Friedman 1992;Held 1990;Toffler 1990;Yiftachel and Alexander 1995). Furthermore, a higher level of mobility induces the current process of decentralization of economic activity to the periphery with a marked increase in the distance between the dwelling and the workplace (Massot and Orfeuil 1995).…”