Becoming a post-growth planner:inner obstacles to changing roles

This contribution uncovers connections between post-growth and planning by looking at those who plan: the planners. It puts forward the belief that change in planning needs a deeper understanding of the inner struggles that occur when post-growth ideas meet contemporary planning practice. With a perspective on German statutory planning at the urban and regional scales, it asks two major questions: first, what hinders planners from imagining planning beyond growth? Second, which inner struggles do planners face when aiming to change from growth-oriented roles and practices? A transformative confrontation, taking basic post-growth critique and questions to discussion events with established public administration planners and planning researchers, unfolds the variety of desires, emotions, values, and processes of sensemaking that are individually different but systematically enshrined. This knowledge helps to outline entry points for planning to change towards growth-independent roles and practices.<br/

Post-growth planning for post-corona times:Reinventing a growth-independent planning in times of crisis

What might the current Coronacrisis mean from a post-growth planning perspective? This short discussion paper aims at supporting a debate within society and spatial planning about imagining positive growth-independent spatial futures and finding ways to plan and organize for them

New roles in collective, growth-independent spatial organisation

In the twenty-first century, urban and spatial planning still stands at the fundamental interface between state power, private capital and public interest (Stein 2019: 12). Planners hold a key position for organising the spatial conditions of our society. Responsible spatial development requires all planners to take roles that reflect the great diversity and complexity of society. Collective responsibility must be converted into new ways of thinking and acting by courageously leading processes of collective spatial and institutional design. However, economic growth cannot solve the urgent challenges of spatial transformation encapsulated by keywords like ‘sustainability’, ‘climate change mitigation, ‘climate change adaptation’ and ‘social justice’. Neither can these problems be successfully dealt with as part of a growth-based agenda, for instance through the accelerated designation of building land or technological solutions.<br/