Abstract
All over the world, people suffer violence and discrimination because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Queer theory has linked the politics of identity and sexuality with radical democracy experiments to decolonize development. Queering participatory planning can improve the wellbeing of vulnerable sectors of the population, while also enhancing their political representation and participation. However, to date, there has been limited engagement with the politics of sexuality and identity in participatory planning. This paper identifies three barriers that prevent the integration of queer concerns. First, queer issues are approached as isolated and distinct, separated from general matters for discussion in participatory processes. Second, heteronormative assumptions have shaped two fields that inform participatory planning practices: development studies and urban planning. Third, concrete, practical problems (from safety concerns to developing shared vocabularies) make it difficult to raise questions of identity and sexuality in public discussions. An engagement with queer thought has potential to renew participatory planning.
Highlights
The seminar series on Queering Development, held at the Institute of Development Studies in 2000, represented a foundational moment when development studies encountered queer theory.(2) The series highlighted two contributions of queer theory that are still relevant today
By separating queer issues from participatory processes, we reduce the legitimacy of sex and gender diverse people to join any attempts at making collective futures, which results in direct harm to those communities
Creating safe spaces and building solidarity with groups facing other forms of discrimination are crucial strategies in advancing sexual and gender rights.(90) for participatory planning, the question is how to include everyone in a political process of liberation.(91) Queering participation calls for polyvocal processes of representation that bring together queer accounts deleted from history and maps.(92) In an urban context, this means engaging with the multiple forms of heritage and how they influence wider communities, showing how the expansion of safe space for queer communities across the city benefits everyone
Summary
Organizations that embrace queer narratives regard citizen participation as a core aspect of their ethics and practice.(10) Queering participation is imperative for postcolonial planning agendas engaged with the demands of changing societies as the external regulation of sexuality, identity and emotion has become increasingly contested. Understanding the barriers to queering participation is a small step towards addressing the crisis in participatory planning and engaging its radical democratic potential. It is, an essential point of EN V I RON M ENT & URB ANIZATI ON. The paper concludes by exploring the potential of queer thinking within participatory processes It considers troubling the “normal”, emphasizing material lived experiences, and giving participants permission to fail
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