Victoria A. Beard

Learning Radical Planning: The Power of Collective Action

This article examines how citizens in authoritarian political contexts learn radical planning for social transformation. After identifying a series of gaps in the radical planning literature, the article uses a longitudinal study (1994-2001) of collective action in an urban settlement in Indonesia as a heuristic device to develop a more nuanced model of radical planning. The study illustrates how cumulative participation in state-directed planning, community-based planning, and covert planning over time resulted in a sense of collective agency that served as a foundation for demanding political reform at a moment when state control was weakened.

Individual determinants of participation in community development in Indonesia

Given the new decentralization legislation in Indonesia, citizen participation is an increasingly important factor in planning and development policies. Yet policymakers have inadequate information about the types of individuals likely to contribute their knowledge, time, and economic resources to the development process. This paper provides a background and conceptual framework for understanding citizen participation in community development as well as the related components of civil society and social capital in Indonesia. A series of logistic and ordinary least squares regression models are used to analyze the effect of individual demographic and socioeconomic characteristics on the likelihood of participation in community development. I conclude that participatory community development (1) restricts womens participation beyond the role of family caretaker, and (2) has a limited capacity to help the poor.

Collective Action and Community-driven Development in Rural and Urban Indonesia

The article analyses differences in collective action in rural and urban communities that participated in a poverty alleviation project in Indonesia. It was found that the main determinants of collective action are relationships among multiscalar social, political and historical factors, internal and external to communities. Two distinct forms of collective action are also identified. The first form is based on community cohesion, stable social relationships and adherence to social hierarchy. The second form is based on a communitys perception of an interdependent future and a shared desire for structural change. Both forms of collective action are effective in delivering project resources to beneficiaries; however, only the second form demonstrates potential for social transformation.

Covert Planning for Social Transformation in Indonesia

Public engagement in planning can be viewed as a continuum ranging from local inclusion in synoptic planning schemes devised by the state to participation in grassroots social movements that seek broader social transformation. This continuum is incomplete because it does not elucidate how local people plan for social transformation within highly restrictive political environments where responses to social activism encompass real physical and social harm. The article draws on historical and contemporary analysis of social change in Indonesia and Malaysia together with a case study from Indonesia to demonstrate that social transformation does occur within environments where overt radical action is dangerous. In these circumstances, it takes a more subtle and nuanced form of collective action, here referred to as covert planning.

Community-based Planning and Poverty Alleviation in Oaxaca, Mexico:

In response to the growing critique of decentralized and participatory approaches to development, the article develops a theoretical framework for analyzing the relationship between community-based planning and poverty. Building on contributions from research on collective action, social capital, and social movements, the framework identifies a series of variables that are theorized to affect a communitys capacity to alleviate poverty. Using this framework, three community-level case studies in Oaxaca, Mexico are analyzed. All three communities are characterized by a decline in subsistence agriculture, increasing out-migration, and the use of remittances to finance community-based planning projects. The article documents each communitys capacity to alleviate the material manifestations of poverty. It concludes that only the community with the strongest capacity for community-level collective action was capable of planning independent of the state, and thus in a position to take incipient steps toward addressing povertys structural causes. The findings call into question the often assumed desirability of collaborative planning and support the need for a more nuanced understanding of the strengths and limitations of distinct forms of community-based planning interpreted within broader socio-political contexts.

Planning and decentralization : contested spaces for public action in the global south

In the last two decades the concept of state decentralization has been used to justify contradictory processes and decisions. While advocates stress decentralization of state responsibilities and decision making so that inclusive decision making and participatory planning can advance democratization, critics view state decentralization as a Trojan horse that brings the power of private sector interests into public decision making. The critique points to the outright privatization of public utilities as well as the invasion of the public sector partnerships with private corporations.1. Introduction: Situating Contested Notions of Decentralized Planning in the Global South Victoria A. Beard, Faranak Miraftab, Christopher Silver Part 1: Decentralization: Contexts-Outcomes 2. Decentralization and Entrepreneurial Planning Faranak Miraftab 3. Decentralization, Privatization and Countervailing Popular Pressure: South African Water Commodification and Decommodification Patrick Bond 4. Decentralized Planning and Metropolitan Growth: Poverty and Wealth in Buenos Aires Suburbs Nora Libertun de Duren 5. New Spaces New Contests: Appropriating Decentralization for Political Change in Bolivia Benjamin Kohl and Linda Farthing Part 2: The Challenges of Fiscal and Administrative Decentralization 6. The Evolution of Subnational Development Planning Under Decentralization Reforms in Kenya and Uganda Paul Smoke 7. Decentralization in Vietnams Water Sector: Community Level Privatization in the Mekong Delta James H. Spencer 8. Decentralization and Local Democracy in Chile: Two Active Communities and Two Models of Local Governance Anny Rivera-Ottenberger Part 3: The Role of Non-State Participants in Decentralization 9. Community-Driven Devlopment and Elite Capture: Microcredit and Community Board Participation in Indonesia Victoria A. Beard, Menno Pradhan, Vijayendra Rao, Randi S. Cartmill, Rivayani 10. University-Community Partnership: Institutionalizing Empowered and Participatory Planning in Indonesia Christopher Silver and Tubagus Furqon Sofhani 11. En(gendering) Effective Decentralization, the Experience of Women in Panchayati Raj in India Kajri Misra and Neema Kudva 12. Decentralization and Social Capital in Urban Thailand Amrita Daniere and Lois M. Takahashi 13. Decentralization and the Struggle for Participation in Local Politics and Planning: Lessons from Naga City, the Philippines Gavin Shatkin 14. Conclusion: Making Sense of Decentralized Planning in the Global South Christopher Silver, Victoria A. Beard and Faranak Miraftab

Commentary: Moving Beyond Crisis, Crossroads, and the Abyss in the Disciplinary Formation of Planning:

The article explicates the contours of an academic discipline and builds an argument in favor of viewing planning as an evolving discipline. As part of our argument, we discuss the unique historical trajectory of the planning discipline, its emphasis on practice and public scholarship, and how this contrasts to the traditional social sciences. We argue that planning scholars need to reorient toward the discipline’s central organizing concept, Friedmann’s knowledge-action framework, and to engage in an ongoing dialectical process of refinement, revision, and extension. To illustrate this point, we provide an example of how recent scholarly work on collective action and social movement contributes to the terrain of planning thought.

Planning, Public Participation, and Money Politics in Santa Ana (CA)

Problem, research strategy, and findings: In this study, we analyze why a low-income community failed to meaningfully affect plans for the redevelopment of the Station District in Santa Ana (CA) although they used three avenues to do so: public participation, liberal democracy, and deliberative democracy. The city provided opportunities for public participation but controlled the agenda, effectively preventing residents from reframing the discussion. The liberal democratic electoral system failed residents because many were ineligible to vote, while city council members received campaign contributions from external business interests. Residents did develop extensive deliberative democratic processes that produced collaborative plans; however, these plans were not well incorporated into the official plan. In addition, the city refused to sign a community benefit agreement through which residents could hold the city and developer responsible for the redevelopment plan. Takeaway for practice: We suggest that planners have an obligation to improve the participatory process by empowering community residents to set the agenda and frame the issues at the local level while addressing the role of corporations in local politics and in campaign finance, and by seeking to achieve elections that more fairly represent spatially segregated public interests. Less-ambitious changes to the public planning process will fail to achieve a balance of power among low-income communities of color, city officials, and those representing private market interests.

Traversing the Border Community-Based Planning and Transnational Migrants

Transnational communities transcend national borders in order to act collectively, despite geographic, economic, and political challenges. Oaxacan migrants exemplify how community organizations mobilize beyond the local scale to facilitate community-based planning in the United States and Mexico. The article brings together contributions from scholarship on collective action, governance, and citizenship to analyze community-based planning. It analyzes how Oaxacan migrants modify norms and customs about community service and indigenous governance in relation to community-based planning in both countries. The findings expand our understanding of how community-based planning is scaled up and embedded in transnational processes and relationships.

Introduction: Situating contested notions of decentralized planning in the global south

In the last two decades the concept of state decentralization has been used to justify contradictory processes and decisions. While advocates stress decentralization of state responsibilities and decision making so that inclusive decision making and participatory planning can advance democratization, critics view state decentralization as a Trojan horse that brings the power of private sector interests into public decision making. The critique points to the outright privatization of public utilities as well as the invasion of the public sector partnerships with private corporations.1. Introduction: Situating Contested Notions of Decentralized Planning in the Global South Victoria A. Beard, Faranak Miraftab, Christopher Silver Part 1: Decentralization: Contexts-Outcomes 2. Decentralization and Entrepreneurial Planning Faranak Miraftab 3. Decentralization, Privatization and Countervailing Popular Pressure: South African Water Commodification and Decommodification Patrick Bond 4. Decentralized Planning and Metropolitan Growth: Poverty and Wealth in Buenos Aires Suburbs Nora Libertun de Duren 5. New Spaces New Contests: Appropriating Decentralization for Political Change in Bolivia Benjamin Kohl and Linda Farthing Part 2: The Challenges of Fiscal and Administrative Decentralization 6. The Evolution of Subnational Development Planning Under Decentralization Reforms in Kenya and Uganda Paul Smoke 7. Decentralization in Vietnams Water Sector: Community Level Privatization in the Mekong Delta James H. Spencer 8. Decentralization and Local Democracy in Chile: Two Active Communities and Two Models of Local Governance Anny Rivera-Ottenberger Part 3: The Role of Non-State Participants in Decentralization 9. Community-Driven Devlopment and Elite Capture: Microcredit and Community Board Participation in Indonesia Victoria A. Beard, Menno Pradhan, Vijayendra Rao, Randi S. Cartmill, Rivayani 10. University-Community Partnership: Institutionalizing Empowered and Participatory Planning in Indonesia Christopher Silver and Tubagus Furqon Sofhani 11. En(gendering) Effective Decentralization, the Experience of Women in Panchayati Raj in India Kajri Misra and Neema Kudva 12. Decentralization and Social Capital in Urban Thailand Amrita Daniere and Lois M. Takahashi 13. Decentralization and the Struggle for Participation in Local Politics and Planning: Lessons from Naga City, the Philippines Gavin Shatkin 14. Conclusion: Making Sense of Decentralized Planning in the Global South Christopher Silver, Victoria A. Beard and Faranak Miraftab