No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) Kop van Zuid (Rotterdam): A product of Neoliberal planning
PrefaceThe idea for this book on the contradictions of neoliberal planning first came about in April 2008 while the editors were relaxing on a sunny terrace on Massachusetts Avenue in Boston at the culmination of a long and successful Association of American Geographers (AAG) session that they had organised. The credit crunchhad not yet become a major topic of discussion, although the first signs of the looming crisis had been brought up during the session. Later, while sitting on the lawn of the beautiful, sunny garden of the AAG venue in Washington DC and discussing the final arrangements for this book in April 2010, the devastating consequences of the credit crunch had become clearly visible and were the subject of various conference sessions, meaning that while writing and editing this book we were experiencing first hand just how the contradictions of neoliberalism could affect our cities and lives.The financial crisis and its impact on cities and urban planning may not feature prominently in this book, but we nevertheless hope to open up unexplored conceptual grounds by explicitly bringing together 'neoliberalism' and 'planning' to fill a major gap in planning theory. Our primary focus is to underline the contradictions created by the forces of neoliberal policies in planning theory and practice. In what ways do property-led planning practices clash with public interest? How and why has neoliberalism diffused across the globe, as if there were no alternative? Bringing together a wide variety of case studies, the book aims to provide (partial) answers to these questions, with a focus on the contradictions stemming from the neoliberalisation of urban development. It is hoped that this will be a first step in laying bare the realities of 'neoliberal planning'.As Friedrich Hayek once remarked, the world will be changed by second-hand dealers in ideas. We dedicate this book to the new, open-minded generation of planners, who will hopefully provide us with alternatives; and we look forward to future AAG sessions now that they have moved beyond the (crucial) phase of mere critique vii viii Preface and can now focus on dreaming up new, powerful planning frameworks that will contribute to more justice in the city.Our thanks go in the first place to the authors of this book for their valuable contributions and patience throughout the lengthy publishing process; and we also offer our gratitude to Evelien Bakker and Bernadette Deelen
