Planning problems as epistemic problems. Notes on the debate about multiple truths in planning Authors Christoph Sommer Leibniz-Institut für Raumbezogene Sozialforschung e.V. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14512/rur.2562 Keywords: Postmodernism, Polyrationality, Diversity of forms of knowledge, Planning, Epistemization of planning policy Abstract How should planning deal with the “brutal plurality of truths” (Davy/Levin-Keitel/Sielker 2023). This is a relevant but also controversial question. In this commentary section, Gerd Lintz pointed out that a “broad concept of truth and knowledge” might undermine the ability to cope with the climate and biodiversity crisis in terms of planning (Lintz 2024). Leaving aside the supposed risks of a social-constructivist dilution of the concept of truth, this commentary focuses on planning challenges that go hand in hand with an “epistemization of the political” (Bogner 2021). Epistemization refers to the challenge of how knowledge comes about and by whom it is produced. At the planning level, the question arises as to where and why various forms of truth and knowledge production are increasingly becoming a problem. For example, it is necessary to deal with the (de)politicizing effects of data-driven spatial development, the denial of planning expertise or the suppression of deliberative procedures for plan qualification. Such “knowledge conflicts” must be reflected upon in planning science—especially in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research and work contexts. Downloads Download data is not yet available. References Bäcklund, P.; Mäntysalo, R. (2010): Agonism and institutional ambiguity: Ideas on democracy and the role of participation in the development of planning theory and practice – the case of Finland. In: Planning Theory 9, 4, 333–350. https://doi.org/10.1177/1473095210373684 Bogner, A. (2021): Die Epistemisierung des Politischen. 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Lesenotiz zu Chantal Mouffes Towards a Green Democratic Revolution. https://www.theorieblog.de/index.php/2023/02/radikaldemokratische-sprachlosigkeit-lesenotiz-zu-chantal-mouffes-towards-a-green-democratic-revolution/#comments (02.06.2024). Wiechmann, T.; Buße von Colbe, J.; Jenssen, T.; Klemme, M.; Schulze Dieckhoff, V. (2024): Zur Zukunft der Planung. Vier Szenarien als Ausgangspunkte der strategischen Weiterentwicklung. In: RaumPlanung 226, 2, 21–28. Downloads PDF (German) HTML (German) XML (German) Published Issue publication date 2024-06-28 (version 2)Published online first 2024-06-14 (version 1) Versions 2024-06-28 (2) 2024-06-14 (1) Issue Vol. 82 No. 3 (2024) Section Commentary License Copyright (c) 2024 Dr. Christoph Sommer This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Articles in Raumforschung und Raumordnung – Spatial Research and Planning are published under a Creative Commons license. From Vol. 79 No. 2 (2021), the license applied is CC BY 4.0. From Vol. 77 No. 1 to Vol. 79 No.1, articles were published under a CC BY-SA license. Earlier volumes have been re-published by oekom 2022 under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License CC BY 4.0. How to Cite 1.Sommer C. Planning problems as epistemic problems. Notes on the debate about multiple truths in planning. RuR [Internet]. 2024 Jun. 28 [cited 2025 Jan. 20];82(3):195-8. Available from: https://rur.oekom.de/index.php/rur/article/view/2562 More Citation Formats ACM ACS APA ABNT Chicago Harvard IEEE MLA Turabian Vancouver Download Citation Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS) BibTeX Share
A new Issue has been published December 30, 2024 A new issue of the Open-Access-Journal "Raumforschung und Raumordnung | Spatial Research and Planning" has been published. Volume 82 No. 6 (2024) is now available on our website.
A new Issue has been published October 30, 2024 A new issue of the Open-Access-Journal "Raumforschung und Raumordnung | Spatial Research and Planning" has been published. Volume 82 No. 5 (2024) is now available on our website.
A new Issue has been published August 30, 2024 A new issue of the Open-Access-Journal "Raumforschung und Raumordnung | Spatial Research and Planning" has been published. Volume 82 No. 4 (2024) is now available on our website.