The drama of democracy : contention and dispute in community planning / Jill Grant.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Grant, Jill, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

City planning--Citizen participation.

City planning.

City planning--Nova Scotia--Halifax--Citizen participation.

Nova Scotia--Halifax.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (267 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Toronto, [Ontario] ; Buffalo, [New York] ; London, [England] : University of Toronto Press, 1994.

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

The drama of democracy seldom plays out as literally as it does in urban planning disputes. Yet these are complex dramas in which villains aren't clearly identified, protagonists are caught with ulterior motives, and fifth business runs rampant. In this book, Jill Grant aptly uses a dramaturgical metaphor to show how community planning offers illuminating episodes of the workings of democracy.Grant argues that planning provides a significant venue for the debate of major questions about how we govern ourselves. She illustrates her theory with two case studies of planning disputes in Halifax. By examining the language and actions of the citizens, planners, and politicians involved in these disputes, Grant explores underlying motives and concerns. Overall, this work has much to say about the nature of cultural obstacles that prevent greater democracy. The author concludes that while democracy is a valued cultural concept, its practice proves weak.Much of the work on urban planning takes a socio-economic perspective; the cultural implications of planning are still largely unexplored. By applying a cultural analysis to contemporary case studies, this book takes up the slack, thereby providing a timely addition to existing literature.

Contents:

Contents

Tables, Maps, Photographs, and Figures

Acknowledgments

PART 1: All the World's a Stage

Introduction: 'Everyone Loves a Mystery'

1 THE PLANNING DRAMA

Meaning and Explanation

The Function of Planning

Studying Planning Practice

Planning for Democracy

2 STAGES, ACTORS, AND SCRIPTS

The Stage

Staging Performances

The Actors

Actors and Audiences

The Script

Examining the Script

PART 2: Audience, Take Your Seats

3 DESPERATELY SEEKING DEVELOPMENT

Regional Economic Context

Socio-historic ContextLegislative Context

Local Action in Regional Context

4 PLANNING ISSUES IN PENINSULAR HALIFAX

Halifax in the Postwar Period

The 'Participation Era': The 1970s

The Conservative 1980s

From Overview to Specifics

5 MARKET PLACE PLAZA

Act One

Act Two

Act Three

6 MITCHELL PROPERTY

PART 3: The Reviews Are In

7 STAGING PLANNING ACTIVITIES

International and National Context

The Provincial Context

The Local Context

The Influence of Culture

The Context of Action8 COMMAND PERFORMANCE

Planners' Perspectives

Elected Politicians

Citizen Activists

Actors in Interaction

9 SCRIPTS AND VALUES

Values, Beliefs, and Meanings

Complex Value Sets

Values and Visions

Language and Meaning

Communication and Miscommunication

Part 4: Planning in a Democratic Society

10 DEMOCRACY IN MYTH AND PRACTICE

The Process of Democracy

The Substance of Democracy

Promoting Democracy in the 1990s

Participation in a Democratic Society

Democratic Spaces

Manipulation of the MassesWhat Is Democracy?

11 PLANNING MYTHS AND REALITY

Lessons for Planning Theory and Practice

Planning and Capitalism

Planning and Participation

Planning in Halifax

Towards a Theory of Practice

Appendix: Glossary of Terms and Short Forms

Notes

Bibliography

Index

A

C

D

E

F

G

H

J

M

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-282-04561-X

9786612045615

1-4426-7407-5

OCLC:

431558233