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Not over Your Dead Bodies! A Lacanian Interpretation of Urban Planning Discourse and Practice

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  • Jean Hillier

    (Global Urban Research Unit, School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, Newcastle University, Claremont Tower, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, England)

  • Michael Gunder

    (Department of Planning, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand)

Abstract

This paper examines aspects of Lacanian critical social theory in terms of its appropriateness for understanding urban planning. We tell a story from planning practice in Western Australia which we then analyse by introducing Lacan's notion of the master signifier and the sets of knowledges, values and practices which master signifiers embody. We then apply the Lacanian concepts of desire and jouissance , followed by an exploration of the Lacanian four discourses and the speech acts, or language games, of the planner and the ‘planned’. We conclude by estimating the potential value of Lacanian analysis for understanding planning praxis.

Suggested Citation

  • Jean Hillier & Michael Gunder, 2005. "Not over Your Dead Bodies! A Lacanian Interpretation of Urban Planning Discourse and Practice," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 37(6), pages 1049-1066, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:37:y:2005:i:6:p:1049-1066
    DOI: 10.1068/a37152
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Annette Hastings, 1999. "Discourse and Urban Change: Introduction to the Special Issue," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 36(1), pages 7-12, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Carr, Constance, 2020. "Just because they say it is sustainable development, it does not mean that it is: Sustainable development as a master-signifier in Swiss urban and regional planning," SocArXiv jvbue, Center for Open Science.

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