Galland EPS 2012 - VBN

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Understanding the Reorientations and Roles of Spatial Planning 1365 Table 2. Parameters of state spatial selectivity (adapted from Brenner, 2006, p. 97) (a) Centralization versus decentralization, which contends either the drive to concentrate state operations at the national scale or the inclination to transfer regulatory tasks to sub-national levels; (b) Uniformity versus customization, which asserts either the promotion of levels of service provision and bureaucratic organization throughout an entire territory or the promotion of such services and arrangements in specific places or zones within a territory; (c) Singularity versus multiplicity, which sustains either privileging a single dominant scale as the main level for socio-economic activities or the distribution of such activities among multiple spatial scales; (d) Equalization versus concentration, which emphasizes either spreading socio-economic assets and public resources as evenly as possible across a national territory or the agglomeration of such assets and resources in specific locations, places and regions within a territory Downloaded by [Daniel Galland] at 07:22 25 July 2012 and (d) are similarly correlated albeit in relation with the territorial articulation among different types of juridical units or economic zones. Moreover, parameters (a) and (b) correlate with modes of spatial organization, while parameters (c) and (d) correlate with modes of spatial intervention. In line with this understanding, different configurations of state restructuring have emerged in western Europe since 1960, which correlate with particular forms of state spatial (urban-regional) regulation and state spatial selectivity (Brenner, 2004, 2006). 1 Forms of urban-regional regulation refer to the scale at which spatial strategies are being generated, while forms of spatial selectivity relate to the promotion of specific spaces, locations and scales through spatial strategies. The above parameters of spatial selectivity seem to offer important insights not only with regards to addressing why spatial planning has been prone to shift, but also in accordance with specific periods of state restructuring (Brenner, 2004). In this sense, the reorientation of spatial planning can also be understood from the standpoint of economic geography through the outcomes that these selectivities tend to generate. To supplement these parameters as well as the contextual driving forces described above, the next subsection explains how discourse analysis could be used to pinpoint policy agendas and the concepts that emerge from them. Discourse Analysis as Means to Identify Policy Orientations In Denmark as well as in several other European countries, national (spatial) planning policy has been lately concerned with visions about how the national territory should develop in terms of the qualities of urban and rural areas as well as the natural environment. Such policies therefore comprise particular spatial representations and objectives elaborated by state planning actors. In this sense, it can be argued that policies rely on discourses that are founded on diverse development orientations or rationales. Hajer and Versteeg (2005) define a discourse as “...an ensemble of ideas, concepts and categories through which meaning is given to social and physical phenomena, and which is produced and reproduced through an identifiable set of practices” (p. 175). According to Hajer (2003, p. 103), a policy discourse analysis can be pursued through the study of three layers. The first layer refers to the analysis of storylines, which comprise statements (e.g. metaphors) that synthesize complex narratives (ibid., p. 104). Storylines can be portrayed as a channel whereby actors try to impose their view of reality on others, suggest certain
1366 D. Galland Table 3. Layers of policy discourses (adapted from Hajer, 2003, p. 104) (a) Analysis of storylines: Statements that bring together previously unrelated elements of reality; (b) Analysis of policy vocabularies: Sets of concepts that structure a determined policy developed ad hoc by policymakers; (c) Epistemic figures: rules of formation that underline theories and policies but are not formulated in their own right. Downloaded by [Daniel Galland] at 07:22 25 July 2012 positions and practices, and criticize alternative ones (Hajer & Versteeg, 2005). The second layer relates to the analysis of policy vocabularies, where policymakers set out to determine specific concepts in structuring a particular policy discourse (Hajer, 2003, p. 105). In recent years, for instance, conceptual innovations such as “urban corridors” have been common not only in Danish national planning policies but also elsewhere throughout western Europe (e.g. in The Netherlands). Finally, the last layer comprises the analysis of epistemic figures, which “...refer to the regularity of the thinking of a particular period” (Hajer, 2003, p. 106). In the case of Denmark, as it will be explained in the following sections, the framing of terms such as “equal development” or “balanced development” shows, respectively, the influence of welfarist and sustainability thinking in different spatial planning policies throughout the past decades. Discourse analysis can thus be portrayed as an analytical tool to understand the rationalities behind the arguments that are being used by different policies. The analysis of policy discourses is relevant to our analytical framework in the sense that it can contribute to offer more precise views regarding the meanings behind specific policy contents and conceptualizations. In this sense, the exploration of discourses concerned with national planning policy could further facilitate the process of understanding the roles of spatial planning and thereby complement the analytical capacity provided by the above driving forces and spatial selectivity parameters (Table 3). The Genesis and Evolution of National Planning Policy in Denmark This section describes the evolution of national planning policy in Denmark from its origins until the most recent shifts. It addresses the condition and changing character of national planning reports, legislation and other spatially relevant policy during the past 50 years. In doing so, the section firstly discusses how spatial planning policy emerged and analyses its original scope and aims. It then moves on to examine how policy gradually evolved by stressing its underlying orientations and characteristics. The most important features of national planning reports are thereby exposed in terms of contents to further elucidate orientation shifts. As a whole, this section constitutes the basis for a subsequent discussion regarding the roles that spatial planning has played during different stages of development in Denmark. The Foundations of National Planning in Denmark The Danish planning system is founded “...in the tradition of understanding the necessity for functional cities and the regulation of land-use” (CEC, 1999, p. 18). Its original scope is rooted in forms of physical planning aimed at the regulation of towns and the zoning of
Page 1 and 2: This article was downloaded by: [Da
Page 3 and 4: 1360 D. Galland Downloaded by [Dani
Page 7: 1364 D. Galland Table 1. Synthesis
Page 11 and 12: 1368 D. Galland On top of the above
Page 13 and 14: 1370 D. Galland supplied particular
Page 17 and 18: 1374 D. Galland The larger cities h
Page 19 and 20: 1376 D. Galland are trying to netwo
Page 21 and 22: 1378 D. Galland in the promotion of
Page 25 and 26: 1382 D. Galland The creation of set
Page 27 and 28: 1384 D. Galland Characterizing the
Page 29 and 30: 1386 D. Galland petitiveness. In th
Page 31 and 32: 1388 D. Galland Figure 13. Timeline
Page 35: 1392 D. Galland Downloaded by [Dani

Galland EPS 2012 - VBN

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?