Building consensus for network power? Some reflections on strategic spatial planning in the North West region of England

Bafarasat, Abbas Ziafati; Baker, Mark

doi:10.1177/0263774x15614690

Cited by 16 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…As such, planning plays a central role in the physical aspects of place and how the environment contributes to the well-being and liveability of individual places. However, market-led implementations of planning as a means to re-engineer spatial development for economic growth (Bafarasat and Baker, 2016), and the congested and complex landscape of planning arrangements means that technocratic and visionary planning "might mask some very real changes in strategic thinking about an area's future development" (Allmendinger et al, 2016, p. 49).…”

Section: Planning and Governancementioning

confidence: 99%

Planning and governance issues in the restructuring of the high street

Peel

Parker

2017

JPMD

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Purpose-This paper aims to examine the role of "restructuring" in confronting the challenges facing contemporary high streets in the devolved UK. It complements three articles concerned with repositioning, reinventing and rebranding and illustrates the multi-faceted approaches involved in addressing retail change and town centre transformations. This paper emphasises the role of planning and governance in effecting change. Design/methodology/approach-Informed by a literature review, action research involved interrelated interventions in selected locations, and associated workshops with engaged practitioners and community actors. Findings-The findings highlight that the "resilience" of contemporary town centres demands resisting efforts to return to the status quo and necessitate forms of adaptive management. Understanding high street degeneration and the limitations of a retail-only led policy focus as a "wicked issue" further demands socially constructing town centres as an ecosystem requiring a holistic response. New forms of joint-working involve selecting appropriate models, attending to relational aspects and defined roles and responsibilities. Land use planning, including masterplanning and creating evidenced policy options, provides an important democratic space for legitimising action, offering leadership and extending participation to new change agents. Practical implications-Restructuring of governance is an essential prerequisite in effecting change. Originality/value-The originality of this study lies in the application of the restructuring element of the 4 Rs Framework which enables a focus on the governance dimensions of town centre and high street regeneration. The findings are enhanced through the experiential evidence which stresses both the importance of place-based diversification and value of prioritising holistic and joint actions developed through participatory visioning exercises.

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Section: Planning and Governancementioning

confidence: 99%

Planning and governance issues in the restructuring of the high street

Peel

Parker

2017

JPMD

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“…Their statements should reflect validity and legitimacy as much as possible (Murtagh et al, 2008). If there is no honest consensus, long-term collaboration is not guaranteed (Bafarasat and Baker, 2016). Authentic dialogue produces social and political capital, provides necessary information, high-quality agreement, learning and change, innovation and new practices involving networking and flexibility (Connick and Innes, 2003: 177).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The diversity and interdependence of interests create authentic dialogue. This approach promotes collaboration among stakeholders, partnership, participatory citizenship, and consensus-building (Bafarasat and Baker, 2016; Deng et al, 2015; Natarajan et al, 2019; Vandenbussche, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Power dynamics in collaborative rural planning: The case of Pematang Tengah, Indonesia

Taufiq

Suhirman

Sofhani

et al. 2022

Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space

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Starting from the notion that collaborative rural planning focuses on policymaking through authentic dialogue, this article discusses the power dynamics that influence the planning process and product. It was motivated by the presumption that the understanding of collaborative policymaking is not adequate if it only concerns formal deliberation without considering other power dynamics. Booher and Innes’s model of network power in collaborative policymaking (DIAD–Diversity, Interdependence, Authentic Dialogue) and the power cube model of Gaventa were used to analyze the power mechanisms in the formal as well as in the informal arenas. They were applied to the process of village planning in Pematang Tengah, Indonesia, where the agrarian village community, deliberative bureaucrats, and other stakeholders are involved in formulating development rural planning projects. From the analysis a new model was derived, revealing three power mechanisms that are active in three different phases of the collaborative planning process: (I) Figuring out in openness, (II) Herding of public desire, and (III) Forcing of direction. The findings show that power mechanism (II) in the informal arena plays an important role by steering the course of policymaking in the formal arena (I). Power mechanism (III) is active when invisible actors illegitimately change the planning product that the formal deliberation has produced, acting out of self-interest. The analysis of power mechanisms that are active in the whole planning process can help planners in dealing with formal and informal power when developing appropriate planning strategies through a deliberative process.

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“…RSS had two means to address policy integration and delivery ambitions: a conformity requirement on local development plans, and Regional Funding Allocations (RFA); the latter being introduced in 2005 (Pearce and Ayres 2006). Under RFA, each region provided coordinated advice to government on how funding across transport, housing and economic development should be better spent to help meet regional priorities, including consideration of the territorial balance between metropolitan cores and rural districts (Ziafati Bafarasat and Baker 2016).…”

Section: Adventurous Promotion Of Regionalism (Late 1990s-2010)mentioning

confidence: 99%

A centennial review of the English regional question: Whose policy space is it?

Bafarasat

Baker

2021

Regional & Federal Studies

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The Regional Authority Index emphasizes the emergence of sub-national regions in Europe at the expense of central government but this does not chime with dynamics of regional governance in England. Seeing governance as a construct of the central state for masked steering of sub-national democratic establishments whose 'side-effects' (new political identities) are then addressed by the central state through a cyclical rescaling of governance, we explore this inconsistency. Our centennial review of subnational governance in England challenges the concept of networked polity whereby the unconditional role of the state is to empower stakeholders and facilitate cooperation amongst them. Although sub-regional governance currently seems to have become a cross-party approach to local management, the central state may continue to promote alternative governance scales in the future to (I) break down resultant sub-regional political identities threatening central policy; and (II) maintain its influence on local governments in relation to economic objectives.

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Building consensus for network power? Some reflections on strategic spatial planning in the North West region of England

Cited by 16 publications

References 76 publications

Planning and governance issues in the restructuring of the high street

Planning and governance issues in the restructuring of the high street

Power dynamics in collaborative rural planning: The case of Pematang Tengah, Indonesia

A centennial review of the English regional question: Whose policy space is it?

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