PLANNING FOR A SUSTAINABLE EUROPE? - TU Berlin

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“sustainable” policy-making work as well for other arenas of decision-making as for
transport (e.g. housing, urban policy, energy)? Which sub-elements in the five different
frameworks are compatible with each other, which will always remain mutually
exclusive? What does this mean for the prospects of integrating some or all of the
discursive frameworks into a larger, unifying perspective? What about the differentiation
between more process-oriented and more outcome oriented frameworks? How exactly
does the concept of “reflexive” rationality challenge prevailing planning theoretical
distinctions between “instrumental” and “communicative” rationalities, and how does this
factor into each of the five frameworks? There is much room for additional debate over
each of these questions and beyond. Closely related to this, a second key interest of mine
would lie in an expansion of the concept of “spatial storylines” to other arenas of
decision-making. Additionally, a closer comparison of the German planning concept of
“Leitbilder” and the Anglophone concept of “storylines” would seem fruitful.
Put in the most general terms, I believe that the discourse-oriented and
increasingly interdisciplinary strand in planning and policy studies of which my own
study is obviously a part will continue to provide crucial insights into the shifting
decision-making rationalities of different institutions and individual stakeholders in
modern capitalist democracies, and I hope that both my present and future research might
make a useful partial contribution to the accumulation of knowledge in that arena.
Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something.
Pancho Villa (1877-1923) Last words
Go on, get out. Last words are for fools who haven't said enough.
Karl Marx (1818-1883) Last words to his housekeeper