Changing Roles and Positions of Planners

Abstract

The crisis of the 1970s resulted in major and structural changes in the spatial and politico-economic organisation of society. These changes can be explained by the transition from a Fordist mode of development toward a new, more geographically open and market-based mode of production founded on a growing and all-encompassing flexibility. As planning is not an abstract analytical concept but a concrete socio-historical practice, these changes had a major impact on planning and the planning profession.... That brings us to a new role definition for planners. Some initial ideas are offered as a way of redefining the role. The focus of the paper is on the re-emphasis of the political role of the planner as well as on the technical expertise and the managerial role of the planner.