Reading Conceptual Discourses of Power in Urban Studies and Urban Planning Research
Journal Title: Urban Strategic Thought - Year 2024, Vol 2, Issue 1
Abstract
Introduction: Recently, “Power” has become the inevitable question of the theory and practice of urban planning. Urban planning is based on intervention and involved in the public interest, interests of numerous structures, institutions and activists. Therefore, Urban Planning is inevitably politically and explained in connection with power relations. The analysis of the role of power and politics in urban planning has been considered in literature for decades. However, such efforts in urban planning research and urban studies of Iran have been made less. Despite the attention to the concept of power in recent decades in urban studies and planning research, the definitions and coordinates of this concept have had many ambiguities and the literature has made different perceptions of the concept of power. The roots of these semantic ambiguities and multiplicity may be sought in the multiplicity of the meanings of power in the social science and political philosophy. Here, the main question is: what is the reading of the "what" of the concept of power in the field of urban planning and urban studies? And what the components of power research, including "who," "why," and "how," have taken this concept in response? The Purpose of the Research: The main purpose of this article is to understand the conceptual discourses of "power" and explain its various aspects in urban studies. The mentioned goal is defined in connection with the main question of the article, i.e. "what" is the concept of power and its relationship with "why" and "how" of power relations in urban research. Methodology: In order to answer the question of the research and within the framework of the interpretive paradigm, qualitative methodology and directed content analysis method have been used. Content analysis and data coding are conducted based on themes, and the authors have classified, summarized, and understood the textual data in the field of power based on the interpretation of the text. In this research, based on the common methods of sampling in qualitative research, samples of studies that are more suitable to achieve the goals of the research have been selected. In fact, the focus is on texts that contain a lot of information according to the purpose of the research. Therefore, the analysis of the content of the texts that are among the most famous and most referenced sources in the field of "power and urban planning" has been done. Findings and Discussion: The findings show that different themes of power in urban studies can be seen as different aspects of the concept of power that, not separately but intertwined and integrated, represent the dynamic and complex concept of power relationships. Also, among the conceptual discourses of power, including the “government-oriented”, “legal-institutional”, “structural”, “commodity”, “symbolic”, and “network” that each represents an aspect of the power relations. Foucault's network approach has a widespread application in urban studies and urban planning research due to having other aspects of power and the ability to analyze the network of official and unofficial, hidden and obvious power relations. In Foucault's "network-oriented" approach to power, the predominant emphasis is on policies, tactics and relationships such as formal and informal networking, hidden alliances, negotiations and deals, through which "spatial actions" in the form of Projects and material space are formed. Therefore, this attitude has a very high capacity to analyze the network of formal and informal relationships, overt and hidden power in the research and professional field of urban planning. Conclusion: A review of extensive research in the field of power shows that knowledge of the complex concept of "power" gives a practical understanding of it for analysis in relation to urban planning and spatial policies and for finding effective analytical tools to identify what, why and How to apply power in urban development processes will be fruitful. The studies of the field of power, especially in Foucault's perspective, help us to search for power beyond the concept of the government and the official system, in relation to the most detailed issues and the open and hidden relations of actors in the processes of planning, it is in relation to the knowledge of revelation. and finally strengthen our understanding of the discourse situations in which activists, managers and city planners are located.
Authors and Affiliations
Mohsen Esmaeili, Farshad Nourian, Ailin Sheydayi
Keywords
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- EP ID EP742657
- DOI 10.30479/ust.2024.19890.1138
- Views 10
- Downloads 0
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