The Public Interest in Planning: From Legitimation to Substantive Plan Evaluation

Alexander, Ernest R.

doi:10.1177/147309520200100303

Cited by 135 publications

(129 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

120

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Despite the criticism, the theoretical interest in the concept has not vanished (e.g. Campbell & Marshall, 2002a;Moroni, 2004;Alexander, 2002;Sager, 2013;Mäntysalo & Jarenko 2014;Puustinen et al, 2017). In this article, we offer our contribution a conceptual matrix by which the contemporary heterogeneity of the conceptions of public interest in planning can be analyzed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…This justification has been grounded in the planner's role in promoting the public interest. The public interest has also provided a normative base for the planner's professional judgment (Alexander, 2002;Campbell & Marshall, 2002b;Tait, 2011). And thirdly, the public interest has provided the criterion for evaluating the planning process and its results (e.g.…”

Section: The Disputed Concept Of Public Interestmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The concept of public interest has been analyzed with various frameworks in the past (Alexander, 2002;Campbell & Marshall, 2002a;Moroni, 2004). All these constructions have emphasized and crystallized different aspects and elements of the concept.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The Varying Interpretations of Public Interest: Making Sense of Finnish Urban Planners’ Conceptions

Puustinen¹,

Mäntysalo²,

Jarenko³

2017

CUS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

During the past decades, the concept of public interest has been severely criticized. It nevertheless remains to be a key normative reference point against which public planning may be evaluated and justified. The article claims that there are multiple conceptions of public interest that coexist in everyday planning practice. These conceptions are grounded in the age-old debate on the duties of the State. In the article, four different approaches to public interest were recognized on the basis of two dimensions of the concept. These dimensions are individual/collective and regulation/non-regulation. The theoretical assumptions were tested with interview data of Finnish planning professionals. The coexistence of multiple conceptions of public interest was revealed. This ambiguity makes public interest dubious as a rhetorical tool. Without the explication of the discursive context, the concept is largely devoid of meaning. Thus, when truly seeking justification to planning decisions, with reference to "public interest", the explication of the context and the discursive framework applied is necessary.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: The Disputed Concept Of Public Interestmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Varying Interpretations of Public Interest: Making Sense of Finnish Urban Planners’ Conceptions

Puustinen¹,

Mäntysalo²,

Jarenko³

2017

CUS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Famously defined as 'a machine that makes the land pay more' (the architect Cass Gilbert, 1901, in Willis, 1995, 19), more tall towers have been planned in recent years than at any time previously in Asia, the America and Europe (Leiper and Park, 2010). The systemic preference for high towers has been legitimised by an array of ideological and practical justifications that invoke the master frame of 'the public interest' ( Alexander, 2002). Advocating the belief that 'market and business rationality can be made to operate as effectively in the public interest as it does in securing private interests' (Sager, 2011, 153), planning and municipal authorities offer spatial and economic incentives for building expensive projects as a means of urban revival and beautification.…”

Section: Neo-liberal Urban Development Institutional Justifications mentioning

confidence: 99%

Development as a Battlefield

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. This is an open access book distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC license at the time of publication, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited. Terms of use: Documents inCover illustration: Street scene in the old town of Iiaret, Algeria, 18 December 2012. Photographer © Aurélie Lecarpentier [Aalek] The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available online at http://catalog.loc.gov lc record available at

show abstract

“…The result of a utilitarian urban design would most likely be a very functional and almost sober city with rather straight lines, clear rules and separated functions. The city of Le Corbusier, or urban design according to Bauhaus principles, might resemble ideas of a utilitarian city (Steinø, 2013), as well as the social welfare function (Alexander, 2002).…”

Section: Utilitarian Justice-the City For the Greatest Happiness Of Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clumsy City by Design—A Theory for Jane Jacobs’ Imperfect Cities?

Schmitt

Hartmann

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

How do different concepts of justice correspond with the principles of diversity in cities introduced by Jane Jacobs? This contribution connects Jane Jacobs' ideas on the diverse city with Mary Douglas' Cultural Theory and its concept of clumsy solutions. According to Douglas' Cultural Theory, every social situation can be described in terms of the four ideal-typical "rationalities": individualism, egalitarianism, hierarchism, and fatalism. These four rationalities are again linked to different concepts of justice: libertarian, utilitarian, or social justice. Douglas' Cultural Theory assumes that in every social situation all four of those rationalities emerge in some way and concludes that if a situation is not polyrational, it is less robust. This opts for imperfect and "clumsy solutions". It is argued that clumsy solutions, the four rationalities and related concepts fit Jane Jacobs' claim for more diversity in urban design. This essentially calls for imperfect cities by design, 'built' by Jacobs' generators for diversity. Although this outcome might not be revolutionary in the current debates about urban design, the concept of clumsy solutions provide a foundation for Jane Jacobs' atheoretical claim for a diverse city. This contributes to new reflections on the urban planning paradigms of Jane Jacobs.

show abstract

The Public Interest in Planning: From Legitimation to Substantive Plan Evaluation

Cited by 135 publications

References 14 publications

The Varying Interpretations of Public Interest: Making Sense of Finnish Urban Planners’ Conceptions

The Varying Interpretations of Public Interest: Making Sense of Finnish Urban Planners’ Conceptions

Development as a Battlefield

Clumsy City by Design—A Theory for Jane Jacobs’ Imperfect Cities?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About