Planungskultur als neues Paradigma in der Planungswissenschaft

Abstract

A cultural perspective on the production of space in planning science is en vogue, as recent debates and publications on “planning cultures” indicate. In this context we raise two questions in this article: (1) which understandings of the term “culture” contribute substantially to the formation of a new (cultural) paradigm in planning science? (2) How can such a paradigm be formed considering the variety of different conceptualisations of planning culture?To answer these questions the plurality of “cultural turns” and a typology of different concepts of culture are discussed in a first step. It is highlighted that a cultural turn in planning science is an open and incomplete process which includes perspectives on spaces and planning practices. In a second step, the formation of planning culture as a scientific paradigm is analysed through the comparison of empirical-analytical concepts of planning culture. Thus, theoretical, methodological, empirical and programmatic components of these different concepts are compared within a “cognitive system”. The analysis reveals certain similarities and complementary characteristics of the various conceptualisations. It is therefore argued that there is a constructive coexistence of these approaches, which might lead towards a new paradigm in planning science. In conclusion, the essence of this paradigm might be characterised by five features:(1) a relational understanding of space and (2) a holistic and meaning/knowledge-based definition of culture, which is (3) primarily operationalized through analytical approaches to organisational cultures. Therefore, the essential idea is that planning cultures are characterised by the way actors of planning think and act within (or corresponding to) organisations, producing spaces of meaning through social practices. From a programmatic view, this paradigm might include the (4) comprehension and comparison of different planning cultures that (5) are embedded in certain structural (especially societal) contexts.