Planning as the ideology of (neoliberal) space

Abstract

This article briefly reviews the history and concept of ideology, largely as articulated by exponents of the Frankfurt School, and considers the impact that this has had on historical planning theory and practice, culminating in Habermasian derived communicative planning theory. It then considers the role of ideology in a post-Marxist world and argues for the value of Žižekian critique for understanding planning’s contemporary role of ideologically defining the use of neoliberal space.