Standing in front of bulldozers? Explaining policy stability in land use planning

Abstract

Policy towards planning presents scholars of politics and public policy with a significant puzzle. Since 1947, there has been a surprising level of stability in the system used to plan the use of land. On the other hand, there has been growing evidence that insufficient land has been released for development. The paper considers the question why, in spite of the planning system demonstrably failing to allocate sufficient land, fundamental reform of the system has not been achieved. In answering the question, the paper considers in particular attempts at reform under the Labour governments from 1997 to 2010. It argues that there is an interplay of interests, ideas and institutions: public attitudes, the interests of certain sections of the population, and institutions which are responsive to these attitudes and interests combined to stymie policy reform. As a consequence, radical reform was not achieved, and the paper concludes that attempt to find a technical “fix” to the planning system are unlikely to succeed. A diagnosis recognising the political and distributive nature of the problem will be required.

Divisions: College of Business and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences & Humanities > Politics, History and International Relations
College of Business and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences & Humanities > Aston Centre for Europe
Event Title: Political Studies Association Conference
Event Type: Other
Event Dates: 2012-04-02 - 2012-04-05
Last Modified: 27 Dec 2023 10:13
Date Deposited: 10 May 2012 10:42
PURE Output Type: Paper
Published Date: 2012
Authors: Turner, Ed (ORCID Profile 0000-0003-4658-7321)
McAndrew, Siobhan

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