Ordering Space in a Changing Climate: A Relational Analysis of Planning Practices in Bohol, Philippines

Approaches to planning for climate change often deal primarily with physical planning mechanisms. Less emphasis is given to the social planning processes that lead to inclusive (or exclusive) actions on climate change. Within this paper, we draw upon the analytical lens of modes of ordering to trace the network of relationships taking place in the preparation and implementation of municipal land use plans within the coastal municipalities of Bohol, Philippines. Results highlight how planning’s dominant mode of ordering tends to address disaster risk areas by focusing primarily upon the physical characteristics of space and hazard-mitigating infrastructures, selectively drawing in some human actors from its surrounding context while excluding those viewed as less knowledgeable for addressing climate-related risks. Within some networks, however, climate agency and notions of participation that recognize place-based knowledge from the most vulnerable communities are given a higher profile. Drawing upon this emergent mode of ordering, evidence of some amendments to planning processes are provided, so that approaches integrating the agency of both human and non-human actors can be brought effectively into planning frameworks.