"The Triumph of the Eunuch"

Abstract

This article discusses the role of urban environmental settings in relation to the form of political institutions in the Western city, focusing on the effects of town planners' perception and manipulation of space and environment on social and political organization. We hypothesize that planners act as "social gatekeepers." We found senior British town planners dominated by a managerial ethic, linked with a self-image as "guardians" of the physical fabric of the city and a professional personality which is rigid, rule-following, and rationalistic.