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Multiple truths in planning? A comment regarding postmodern ideas in planning theory

Authors

  • Gerd Lintz Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development image/svg+xml

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14512/rur.2226

Keywords:

Postmodernism, Constructivism , Planning , Thruth , Science

Abstract

In a recently published essay on planning theory, Benjamin Davy, Meike Levin-Keitel and Franziska Sielker observe a “brutal plurality of truths” that complicates spatial planning. In particular, they ask how planners can deal with this. Against the backdrop of the climate and biodiversity crisis, the commentary takes this essay as an opportunity to take a critical look at the multiplicity of truths postulated by postmodernism and the correspondingly stretched concept of knowledge. Above all, it points out the great importance of the pursuit of truth (in the singular) for society. Moreover, it emphasises the danger of making inter- and transdisciplinary research more difficult, of depreciating science and of increasing the distance between science and the centre of society. The commentary pleads for a faster, stronger focus on the very big challenges of our time, for which a pragmatic orientation towards truth and what unites society is indispensable.

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References

Davy, B.; Levin-Keitel, M.; Sielker, F. (2023): Plural planning theories: cherishing the diversity of planning. In: European Planning Studies 31, 11, 2267–2276. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2023.2217852 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2023.2217852

Diller, C.; Oberding, S. (2017): „Probleme zuerst“ – ein banaler, überholter Imperativ in der Raumplanung? Theoretische Überlegungen und empirische Befunde. In: disP – The Planning Review 53, 4, 55–70. https://doi.org/10.1080/02513625.2017.1414492 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02513625.2017.1414492

Farthing, S. (2016): Research design in urban planning. A student’s guide. London. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781473921375 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781473921375

Haber, W. (2010): Die unbequemen Wahrheiten der Ökologie. Eine Nachhaltigkeitsperspektive für das 21. Jahrhundert. München. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14512/9783865816504

Schwaabe, C. (2018): Politische Theorie. Von Platon bis zur Postmoderne. Paderborn. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36198/9783838549842

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Published

2023-12-11

Versions

Issue

Vol. 82 No. 1 (2024)

Section

Commentary

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Gerd Lintz

Creative Commons License

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.
Lintz G. Multiple truths in planning? A comment regarding postmodern ideas in planning theory. RuR [Internet]. 2023 Dec. 11 [cited 2026 May 16];82(1). Available from: https://rur.oekom.de/index.php/rur/article/view/2226

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