IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envira/v45y2013i1p217-234.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Spaces of Neoliberal Experimentation: Soft Spaces, Postpolitics, and Neoliberal Governmentality

Author

Listed:
  • Graham Haughton

    (School of Environment and Development, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, England)

  • Phil Allmendinger

    (Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge, 19 Silver Street, Cambridge CB3 9EP, England)

  • Stijn Oosterlynck

    (Centre on Inequality, Poverty, Social Exclusion and the City, Department of Sociology, Antwerp University, Belgium)

Abstract

This paper examines the proliferation of soft spaces of governance, focusing on planning. We move beyond more functional explanations to explore the politics of soft spaces, more specifically how soft space forms of governance operate as integral to processes of neoliberalisation, highlighting how such state forms facilitate neoliberalisation through their flexibility and variability. Recent state restructuring of the planning sector and emerging trends for soft spaces in England under the Coalition government proposals are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Graham Haughton & Phil Allmendinger & Stijn Oosterlynck, 2013. "Spaces of Neoliberal Experimentation: Soft Spaces, Postpolitics, and Neoliberal Governmentality," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 45(1), pages 217-234, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:45:y:2013:i:1:p:217-234
    DOI: 10.1068/a45121
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1068/a45121
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1068/a45121?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brenner, Neil, 2004. "New State Spaces: Urban Governance and the Rescaling of Statehood," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199270064.
    2. Juho Luukkonen & Helka Moilanen, 2012. "Territoriality in the Strategies and Practices of the Territorial Cohesion Policy of the European Union: Territorial Challenges in Implementing “Soft Planning”," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(3), pages 481-500, March.
    3. Louis Albrechts, 2006. "Bridge the Gap: From Spatial Planning to Strategic Projects," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(10), pages 1487-1500, November.
    4. Martínez-Alier, Joan & Pascual, Unai & Vivien, Franck-Dominique & Zaccai, Edwin, 2010. "Sustainable de-growth: Mapping the context, criticisms and future prospects of an emergent paradigm," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(9), pages 1741-1747, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Charlotte Hoole & Stephen Hincks, 2020. "Performing the city-region: Imagineering, devolution and the search for legitimacy," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 52(8), pages 1583-1601, November.
    2. Kristian Olesen & Carsten J Hansen, 2020. "Introducing business regions in Denmark: The ‘businessification’ of strategic spatial planning?," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 38(2), pages 366-383, March.
    3. Sara Gonzalez & Stijn Oosterlynck, 2014. "Crisis and resilience in a finance-led city: Effects of the global financial crisis in Leeds," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(15), pages 3164-3179, November.
    4. James Fraser & Joshua Theodore Bazuin & George Hornberger, 2016. "The privatization of neighborhood governance and the production of urban space," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 48(5), pages 844-870, May.
    5. Phil Allmendinger & Graham Haughton, 2013. "Revisiting … Spatial Planning, Devolution, and New Planning Spaces," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 31(6), pages 953-957, December.
    6. McCann, Laura & Hutchison, Norman & Adair, Alastair, 2023. "The role of UK universities as economic drivers in a localisation agenda: A case study of City Deals," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    7. David Etherington & Martin Jones, 2018. "Re-stating the post-political: Depoliticization, social inequalities, and city-region growth," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 50(1), pages 51-72, February.
    8. Duncan Adam & Anne E Green, 2016. "Soft spaces and soft outcomes: Experiences from City Strategy on local partnership working and measures of success," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 48(8), pages 1514-1531, August.
    9. Kristin Kjærås, 2021. "Towards a relational conception of the compact city," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(6), pages 1176-1192, May.
    10. Lee Pugalis & Alan R Townsend, 2013. "Trends in place-based economic strategies: England’s fixation with ‘fleet-of-foot’ partnerships," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 28(7-8), pages 696-717, November.
    11. Thaler, Thomas & Löschner, Lukas & Hartmann, Thomas, 2017. "The introduction of catchment-wide co-operations: Scalar reconstructions and transformation in Austria in flood risk management," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 563-573.
    12. Mark Sandford, 2019. "Money talks: The finances of English Combined Authorities," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 34(2), pages 106-122, March.
    13. Karola Schober & Richard Balling & Tobias Chilla & Hannah Lindermayer, 2023. "European Integration Processes in the EU GI System—A Long-Term Review of EU Regulation for GIs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-24, February.
    14. Gareth A S Edwards & Harriet Bulkeley, 2017. "Urban political ecologies of housing and climate change: The ‘Coolest Block’ Contest in Philadelphia," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(5), pages 1126-1141, April.
    15. Cesare Di Feliciantonio & Cian O’Callaghan, 2020. "Struggles over property in the ‘post-political’ era: Notes on the political from Rome and Dublin," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 38(2), pages 195-213, March.
    16. Feitelson, Eran, 2018. "Shifting sands of planning in Israel," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 695-706.
    17. Mattila, Hanna & Heinilä, Aleksi, 2022. "Soft spaces, soft planning, soft law: Examining the institutionalisation of city-regional planning in Finland," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    18. Salla Jokela, 2020. "Transformative city branding and the evolution of the entrepreneurial city: The case of ‘Brand New Helsinki’," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(10), pages 2031-2046, August.
    19. Petersen, Jens-Phillip & Heurkens, Erwin, 2018. "Implementing energy policies in urban development projects: The role of public planning authorities in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 275-289.
    20. Pallagst, Karina M., 2018. "Ausgewählte grenzüberschreitende Kooperationsformen und die INTERREG-Förderung in Europa," Arbeitsberichte der ARL: Aufsätze, in: Pallagst, Karina M. & Hartz, Andrea & Caesar, Beate (ed.), Border Futures - Zukunft Grenze - Avenir Frontière: Zukunftsfähigkeit grenzüberschreitender Zusammenarbeit, volume 20, pages 353-361, ARL – Akademie für Raumentwicklung in der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft.
    21. Glen Searle & Crystal Legacy, 2021. "Locating the public interest in mega infrastructure planning: The case of Sydney’s WestConnex," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(4), pages 826-844, March.
    22. Oliveira, Eduardo & Hersperger, Anna M., 2018. "Governance arrangements, funding mechanisms and power configurations in current practices of strategic spatial plan implementation," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 623-633.
    23. Mike Hodson & Andrew McMeekin, 2021. "Global technology companies and the politics of urban socio-technical imaginaries in the digital age: Processual proxies, Trojan horses and global beachheads," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 53(6), pages 1391-1411, September.
    24. Pallagst, Karina, 2022. "Selected cross-border forms of cooperation and INTERREG funding in Europe," Arbeitsberichte der ARL: Aufsätze, in: Pallagst, Karina & Hartz, Andrea & Caesar, Beate (ed.), Border Futures - Zukunft Grenze - Avenir Frontière: The future viability of cross-border cooperation, volume 33, pages 375-383, ARL – Akademie für Raumentwicklung in der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft.
    25. Thorning, Daniel & Balch, Christopher & Essex, Stephen, 2019. "The delivery of mixed communities in the regeneration of urban waterfronts: An investigation of the comparative experience of Plymouth and Bristol," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 238-251.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Geneviève Zembri-Mary & Virginie Engrand-Linder, 2023. "Urban planning law in the face of the Olympic challenge: Between innovation and criticism of exceptional urban regeneration," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 38(4), pages 369-388, June.
    2. Navé Wald & Douglas P. Hill, 2016. "‘Rescaling’ alternative food systems: from food security to food sovereignty," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 33(1), pages 203-213, March.
    3. Kevin Fox Gotham, 2014. "Racialization and Rescaling: Post-Katrina Rebuilding and the Louisiana Road Home Program," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(3), pages 773-790, May.
    4. Andrew Clarke & Lynda Cheshire, 2018. "The post-political state? The role of administrative reform in managing tensions between urban growth and liveability in Brisbane, Australia," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 55(16), pages 3545-3562, December.
    5. Malmaeus, J. Mikael & Alfredsson, Eva C., 2017. "Potential Consequences on the Economy of Low or No Growth - Short and Long Term Perspectives," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 57-64.
    6. Juliana Hurtado Rassi, 2020. "Gestión conjunta de ecosistemas transfronterizos: la importancia del trabajo articulado entre los Estados para la conservación de los recursos naturales. Análisis del caso particular de la “Reserva de," Books, Universidad Externado de Colombia, Facultad de Derecho, number 1241.
    7. Xue, Jin, 2014. "Is eco-village/urban village the future of a degrowth society? An urban planner's perspective," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 130-138.
    8. Natalie Papanastasiou, 2017. "The practice of scalecraft: Scale, policy and the politics of the market in England’s academy schools," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 49(5), pages 1060-1079, May.
    9. Fricke, Carola, 2014. "Grenzüberschreitende Governance in der Raumplanung: Organisations- und Kooperationsformen in Basel und Lille," Arbeitsberichte der ARL: Aufsätze, in: Grotheer, Swantje & Schwöbel, Arne & Stepper, Martina (ed.), Nimm's sportlich - Planung als Hindernislauf, volume 10, pages 62-78, ARL – Akademie für Raumentwicklung in der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft.
    10. Katsu Masaki, 2022. "Exploring the ‘Partial Connections’ between Growth and Degrowth Debates: Bhutan’s Policy of Gross National Happiness," Journal of Interdisciplinary Economics, , vol. 34(1), pages 86-103, January.
    11. Cavicchia, Rebecca, 2023. "Housing accessibility in densifying cities: Entangled housing and land use policy limitations and insights from Oslo," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    12. Liu, Yansui & Zhou, Yang, 2021. "Territory spatial planning and national governance system in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    13. Jin Xue & Hans Jakob Walnum & Carlo Aall & Petter Næss, 2016. "Two Contrasting Scenarios for a Zero-Emission Future in a High-Consumption Society," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-25, December.
    14. Matthias Bernt, 2009. "Partnerships for Demolition: The Governance of Urban Renewal in East Germany's Shrinking Cities," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 754-769, September.
    15. Bayirbag Mustafa K., 2011. "Pro-Business Local Governance and (Local) Business Associations: The Case of Gaziantep," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 13(4), pages 1-39, December.
    16. Carol Upadhya, 2017. "Amaravati and the New Andhra," Journal of South Asian Development, , vol. 12(2), pages 177-202, August.
    17. Malmberg Anders & Malmberg Bo & Maskell Peter, 2023. "Population age structure – An underlying driver of national, regional and urban economic development," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 67(4), pages 217-233, December.
    18. Clive L. Spash, 2013. "The Ecological Economics of Boulding's Spaceship Earth," SRE-Disc sre-disc-2013_02, Institute for Multilevel Governance and Development, Department of Socioeconomics, Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    19. Yun Zhong & Xiaobo Su, 2019. "Spatial selectivity and intercity cooperation between Guangdong and Hong Kong," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 56(14), pages 3011-3029, November.
    20. Stephen M McCauley & James T Murphy, 2013. "Smart Growth and the Scalar Politics of Land Management in the Greater Boston Region, Usa," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 45(12), pages 2852-2867, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:45:y:2013:i:1:p:217-234. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.