Planning, Place Governance and the Challenges of ‘Devolution’PATSY HEALEY,

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, PLANNING AND LANDSCAPE

NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY

English governance – the critiques

Long-standing ..

Over-centralised

Poor capacity for long-term investment

Over-sectoralised

Weak co-ordinative capacity

In recent years ..

Fragmented responsibilities

Poorly-informed

Prone to fashions and ‘quick-fix’ responses

Impact on place governance

Undermines place-focused development strategies

Regional and local co-ordination difficult

Regional and local political capacity and accountability difficult

YET

Place qualities matter .. To people -

To economic activity

To environmental sustainability

“The challenge of place governance provides one of the key arenas within which the qualities of democratic systems are being tested at the present time” (Healey 2015:105)

Place governance, the planning ‘project’ and planning systems

The Planning ‘project’ – a form of place governance:

Planning Systems – a set of tools, procedures and institutional arrangements to assist in place governance May or may not be informed by the orientation of

the ‘planning project’.

An orientation to the future and a belief that action now can shape future potentialities An emphasis on liveability and sustainability for the many, not the few An emphasis on interdependences and connectivities between one phenomenon and another, across time and space An emphasis on expanding the knowledgeability of public action, expanding the ‘intelligence’ of a polity A commitment to open, transparent government processes, to open processes of reasoning in the public realm (Healey 2010:19)

RTPI Thinking Spatially (RTPI 2014)

“Planning is a much broader creative activity, starting and delivering visions for places ..

Spatial planning goes beyond traditional land use planning to seek to integrate policies for the development and use of land with other policies and programmes which influence the nature of places and how they function …” (p. 34)/

Place – an indeterminate but powerful symbol

Administrative units rarely match the spatial reach of ‘functional units’ these days

There are many ‘functional units’ – with different ‘spatial reach’ and often fluid boundaries

Places are ‘called into being’ not objectively existing

The metaphor of ‘webs of relations’ Social, economic, environmental …

Multiple webs interweaving through a place which is ‘called into attention’ ..

Once recognised, place can become a strong dimension of people’s identity – individually and collectively

Decentralisation and planning: the benefits

Better co-ordination

More knowledgeable and locally relevant

Greater stability in market management

More trustable and democratically accountable

“A governance structure with place as its point of focus presents a good way of re-connecting policy areas that have been increasingly separated” (RTPI Making Better Decisions 2014:7)

But – ‘localism’ is not always good news ..

“’Localism’ by itself can … end up exclusionary, unresponsive and incompetent” (Healey 2012:34

Releasing the benefits – what to think about ..Instruments,

powers and practices Regulatory

Developmental

Financial

Framing ‘visions’ and strategies

Information and Guidance

Legitimacy and accountability

The play of politics

‘levels’ and arenas National administration

(English or UK?)

Intermediate (sub-regions, city regions, etc)

Formal government

Partnerships/collaboratives

Local administration

Civil society initiative

Semi-judicial bodies

Advisory bodies

The courts

Changing attitudes and practices ..

Foster governance practices focused on people’s daily life experiences and what people care about

Takes time, resources, energy, imagination and strategic leadership

Local and regional buy-in essential – and not just by ‘policy networks’ Importance of broadly-based public debate about what is

important – mobilising attention ..

Important to encourage innovation and experimentation – recognising uncertainty ..

Its OK to fail – so long as it becomes a learning experience Circulate learning around – rich situated narrative rather

than crude ‘recipes’

Welfare state and a ‘mixed’

economy(Hierarchical/Managerialist

form)

The ‘neo-liberal’ ideal:

A minimal state with an

‘economic’ focus

A communitarian ideal:

An array of independent self-organising entities

Democratic ‘network’

governance:Overlapping;

non-hierarchical

The wider picture: where are we going?