Graham Haughton

Spatial planning, devolution, and new planning spaces

In this paper we put forward the case for viewing ‘spatial planning’ as a political resource, one which has been largely supportive of the rollout neoliberal approach of New Labour. Drawing on work on postpolitics, we argue that ironically the progressive credentials of spatial planning in terms of consensus building, policy integration, and the search for ‘win – win – win’ solutions may have helped script out oppositional voices. We then outline how the combination of changes to planning systems, devolution, and local government reform has not generated a ‘double dividend’ of greater planning powers devolving from new territorial administrations to local planning authorities. Instead a more complex process of creating new planning spaces has emerged after devolution. Five types of new planning spaces and spatial practices are identified, including new soft space forms of governance.

Developing sustainable urban development models

Abstract The paper focuses on four models of the relations between cities and their environmental hinterlands: these are self-reliance, redesigning the city, external dependency, and the equitable balance or Fair Shares city. Each model has value in pointing towards improved policies for the sustainable city, but none of them provides all the answers.

The New Spatial Planning: Territorial Management with Soft Spaces and Fuzzy Boundaries

Preface 1. The New Spatial Planning: Territorial Management and Devolution 2. Rethinking Planning: State Restructuring, Devolution and Spatial Strategies 3. Irish Spatial Planning and the Cork Experience 4. Spatial Planning in Northern Ireland and the Emergent North West Region of Ireland 5. Spatial Planning in a Devolved Scotland 6. The Wales Spatial Plan and Improving Policy Integration 7. English Spatial Planning and Dealing with Growth in the Leeds City Region 8. Congested Governance and the London Thames Gateway 9. A New Spatial Planning?

Spaces of Neoliberal Experimentation: Soft Spaces, Postpolitics, and Neoliberal Governmentality

This paper examines the proliferation of soft spaces of governance, focusing on planning. We move beyond more functional explanations to explore the politics of soft spaces, more specifically how soft space forms of governance operate as integral to processes of neoliberalisation, highlighting how such state forms facilitate neoliberalisation through their flexibility and variability. Recent state restructuring of the planning sector and emerging trends for soft spaces in England under the Coalition government proposals are discussed.

Regions, Spatial Strategies and Sustainable Development

1. The Re-Emergence of the Region in Policy and Politics 2. Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development 3. Environmental Quality and Spatial Planning: Different Meanings in Different Regions? 4. Housing Need and Urban Form 5. Towards an Urban Renaissance? 6. Inward Investment Versus Sustainable Development: The Economic Development Imperative 7. Governance, Regionalism and Regional Planning 8. Conclusions.

Planning with Ecological Footprints: a sympathetic critique of theory and practice

The concept of the Ecological Footprint has become a popular and increasingly used approach in environmental policy and planning, for western cities in particular. The concept is useful not least as a metaphor that effectively communicates the message that environmental impacts extend beyond the built area of cities. However, the use of Ecological Footprint analysis as a measuring tool is problematic, particularly when it is used as a tool for comparisons between jurisdictions. This paper sets out the benefits of the concept, indicates its history and use, and offers a sympathetic critique of both the theory and practice of Ecological Footprints. We believe this is necessary so that policy makers thinking of adopting this approach are aware of its strengths and limitations, and avoid using the concept in a manner that may be misleading.

The fluid scales and scope of UK spatial planning

In this paper we argue that the emerging new systems for subnational plans and spatial strategies represent a highly contested policy terrain over which battles are being played out about what constitute the appropriate scale, scope, and process of strategic planmaking activities. Significantly, these debates are being played out in different ways in different parts of the post devolutionary UK state. The approach adopted here engages with and develops existing work on state restructuring and sociopolitical rescaling. In doing so we bring struggles over spatial planning to the centre of the analysis, addressing calls for increasing integration across different sectoral policy domains.

The Evolution and Trajectories of English Spatial Governance: ‘Neoliberal’ Episodes in Planning

Abstract English planning again finds itself in a transition from one paradigm—spatial planning—to another—localism. Whilst there is uncertainty and a debate over the significance of these changes and whether they represent a rupture or evolution, we argue in this paper that such change is best understood within the framework of neoliberalization. Seen from this perspective planning is a form of, or contributor to, neoliberal spatial governance. We explore how such an understanding helps explain temporal, spatial, and sectoral variance in planning as well as some of the characteristics of recent planning including scalar change, signature policy moments, resistance, tensions, and insurgent movements. We finally turn to some possible implications of the emerging paradigm.

Market Making: Internationalisation and Global Water Markets

The author examines the rapidly expanding market for private sector management of water systems. He explores the ways in which markets are being constructed, focusing on the role of international bodies—especially multilateral bodies such as the World Bank—in promoting various forms of private sector engagement. Arguing that market making is not politically neutral, he examines how the World Bank sets out to influence national governments in how they run their water-management systems, in the process highlighting alternative visions for community-based systems.

The Soft Spaces of Local Economic Development

This article examines soft spaces, soft outcomes and soft infrastructure, trying to make some connections between them. We argue that soft spaces of governance constitute one of the most important but little understood components of contemporary sub-national economic development policy.