SCENSLECO rationale
SCENSLECO objectives
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SCENSLECO investigated the legitimacy and legitimating practices of informal spatial planning
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The consortium comprised Aalto DoBE/SPT group and Tampere University FoM/POLEIS group
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2015-2019
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During the recent years, the strategic approach to spatial planning has been fostered along with the general managerialist turn of the society. Different sorts of “soft” or unofficial planning tools have been introduced, portraying planning as strategc storytelling. However, the role of such soft planning in relation to the statutory planning system has been ambiguous, especially regarding the legitimacy of planning.
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The aim of the research project was to study how legitimacy is produced and maintained in strategic spatial planning processes. Our view was that in situations characterized by institutional ambiguity legitimacy has to be built in the planning process, not relying on formal authority or legal rights. This is often manifested in practices of storytelling which aim at creating storylines that frame understandings on the present and future and bring together different stakeholders.
The research project, a consortium effort between Aalto DoBE and University of Tampere (School of MAnagement, POLEIS research group) aimed to integrate the unofficial and statutory forms of strategic spatial planning, to better manage legitimacy of planning processes, with a view on
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1) rights and responsibilities,
2) democracy and power, and
3) information and knowledge.
The research included a case study of Tammela in the City of Tampere, and an analysis of unofficial structural schemes made in several Finnish urban regions.
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The project Task Force included prof. emerita Patsy Healey, Newcastle University; prof. emeritus Louis Albrechts, Leuven Catholic University; prof. emeritus James Throgmorton, University of Iowa; prof. Alessandro Balducci, Politechnico di Milano; prof. emeritus Willem Salet, University of Amsterdam
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