200324134

Postmodrn Planning Tbory and
tb Currnt Planning Agnda

unlverslLv of Llverpool
School of LnvlronmenLal Sclences
1he uepL of Clvlc ueslan
1he Cordon SLephenson 8ulldlna
74 8edford SLreeL SouLh
Llverpool
Mersevslde
L2 2uP

Aprll 2010


200324134

2











Prfac

1he followlna reporL looks Lo assess Lhe prlmarv ldeals of posLmodernlsm and how Lhev are
able Lo relaLe Lo our socleLv Lodav 1he maln bodv of Lhe LexL wlll look aL Lhe posLmodern
plannlna debaLe and how Lhls has affecLed urban deslan archlLecLure and communlLles ln
Lhe lasL 60 vears 1he 8rlLlsh plannlna svsLem wlll be hlahllahLed Lo show kev elemenLs of
posLmodernlsm and how Lhls wlll affecL plannlna ln Lhe fuLure







200324134

3

Postmodrnism in Contxt

As we enLer our second decade of Lhe 21
sL
CenLurv and plannlna reaches over 100 vears of
pracLlce as a professlon (as we know lL) our clLles Lhe world over sLlll suffer from an ever
expandlna llsL of urban dearadaLlon homelessness vehlcle polluLlon crumbllna Lower
blocks (Allmendlnaer 2003) verv ofLen Lhe blame for all of Lhls mess lles aL Lhe feeL of
planners Manv clalm Lhere ls slmplv Loo much" plannlna Laklna place ?eL plannlna was
never lnLended Lo solve all of our urban problems buL lnsLead lL exlsts to belp tbe motket
ooJ soppott copltollsm oot cbolleooe ooJ sopploot lt (Ammendlnaer 2003)

keeble (1932) explalned Lhe work of plannlna as belna

1be ott ooJ scleoce of otJetloo tbe ose of looJ ooJ tbe cbotoctet ooJ slttloo of bollJloos ooJ
commoolcotloo tootes so os to secote tbe moxlmom ptoctlcoble Jeotee of ecooomv
cooveoleoce ooJ beootv

1hls sLaLemenL ln lLself purvevs Lhe lmaae LhaL such lndlvlduals planners are seen as
belna able Lo faclllLaLe Lechnlcal and sclenLlflc soluLlons (Lvplcallv modernlsL ldeals) Lo creaLe
funcLlonal and lnLearal urban spaces 1hls alone has led Lo o otowloo Jlseocbootmeot wltb
tbe ootcomes of ploooloo (Allmendlnaer 2003) as people see an lncreaslnalv ellLlsL aLLlLude
Lowards Lhe pracLlce Lven ln more recenL Llmes Lhe 8oval 1own lannlna lnsLlLuLe (1999)
vlew Lhe role of planners as to oJvooce tbe ott ooJ scleoce of 1owo lloooloo fot tbe beoeflt
of tbe pobllc and veL lL appears Lhls scleoce ls falllna Lhe publlc lL ls supposed Lo serve

lL ls now wldelv belleved LhaL Lhere has been a shlfL ln WesLern LhouahL and culLure slnce
Lhe 1960's from modernlsm Lo posLmodernlsm (1avlor 2006) A shlfL so bla LhaL surelv
Lown plannlna could noL have escaped lLs lmpacL? ls posLmodernlsm ln a plannlna conLexL
readv Lo challenae Lhe posL war modernlsL prlnclples of sclenLlflc raLlonallLv whlch have
clearlv falled our aloballsed mulLlculLural clLles?

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4

Cur clLles Lodav are now such a swaLhe of dlfferenL culLures and ldenLlLles one sLreeL alone
can acL as a collaae of Lhe flavours of Lhe world we llve ln 1ake for example 8old SLreeL ln
Llverpool a sLreeL close Lo mv hearL where l have en[oved Lhe lasL 3 vears of mv llfe Cn Lhls
one sLreeL alone vou wlll flnd an eclecLlc mlx of people leadlna Lhelr dav Lo dav llves Lhe
homeless skaLeboarders bmx rlders lndle rockers hlp hop fanaLlcs punks CoLhs
sklnheads scallles blacks whlLes Aslans easLern Luropeans 8asLafarlans Lhe vouna Lhe
old Lhe rlch and Lhe poor Lhe llsL could ao on forever and veL Lhev all share Lhls slnale
space uL slmplv evervLhlna flows

1he posLmodern vlew represenLs a areaLer undersLandlna of Lhe complexlLv and oraanlc
naLure of our clLles promoLlna local prosperlLv and human lnLeracLlon bv provldlna for
spootooeoos selfJlvetslflcotloo omooo otboo popolotloos (!acobs 1961) and Lhus allowlna
Lhe area Lo flow (Lllln 2006)



















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3

Postmodrnism as a Styl

Slnce Lhe 1960's posLmodernlsm has been able Lo embrace anv Jlscootse oo stvle
otcbltectote lltetotote wltb eoool focllltv vet lts ettotlc ooJ cbomeleoo llke fotm teoJets lt
sosceptlble to oolck Jlsmlssol (uear 1986) and almosL lmposslble Lo provlde a solld
unlversal deflnlLlon ln Lodav's world lL ls almosL lmposslble Lo llsLen read or waLch Lhe
medla wlLhouL Lhe Lerm posLmodern belna used 8arrv Coodchlld (1999) presenLs hls own
deflnlLlon of posLmodernlsm as belna

o tejectloo of totolltvwbetbet lo tbe lotoescole solotloos fovooteJ bv comptebeoslve
ploooloo wbetbet lo tbe oestbetlcs of stooJotJlsotloo fovooteJ bv moJeto otcbltectote ot
wbetbet lo tteoJs towotJs ecooomlc cooceottotloo lostmoJetolsm bos o Jotk pesslmlstlc
slJe lo Jemoosttotloo tbe posslbllltv of o wotlJ cbotoctetlseJ bv socb extteme ftoomeototloo
tbot collectlve octloo ls oo loooet posslble 8ot lt olso bos mote optlmlstlc lmpllcotloos
lostmoJetolsm empboslses tbe beoeflts of Jlvetsltv lt welcomes tbe otowtb of locollseJ
ptotest os o meoos of ptomotloo Jemoctocv ooJ lt opeos op tbe ploooloo ptocess lo o wov
wblcb ls tvplcollv JeoleJ bv oo empbosls oo tecbolcol totlooolltv

Cne Lhlna LhaL ls clear wlLhouL modernlsm Lhere could be no posLmodernlsm ln order Lo
make Lhe clearesL dlsLlncLlon beLween Lhe Lwo raLlonales lL ls necessarv Lo look ln Lhe
dlrecLlon of Lhelr dlfferlna archlLecLural preference 1he funcLlonallLv ln Lhe sLvle of modern
archlLecLure has been aLLacked and crlLlclsed for lLs soullessness and lack of vlsual lnLeresL
(1avlor 2006) wlLh posLmodernlsLs re[ecLlna Lhe llfeless Lowerlna concreLe blocks LhaL
dwarfed Lhe human form and replaced Lhem wlLh more sLvle enrlched conLemporarv
bulldlnas uslna radlcal shapes LhaL are more svmpaLheLlc Lo human dlmenslons uear
(1986) explalns LhaL posLmodernlsL archlLecLure has such a sLrona appeal Lo Lhe publlc as lL
ls verv ofLen vlewed as foo sometlmes clevet ooJ eveo otttoctlve

lL should be noLed LhaL posLmodern ldeals and ln parLlcular wlLhln archlLecLure has noL
been embraced bv all uavls (1983) araues (wlLh Lvplcallv modernlsL vlews) LhaL lL ls
unreasonable Lo read Loo much lnLo posLmodern archlLecLure whlch
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6


os llttle otooolc ot exptesslve telotloosblp to loJosttlol ptoJoctloo ot emetoloo tecbooloov
lt ls oot tolsloo cotbeJtols of tbe mlctocblp wbeteos tbe closslcol skvsctopet
tomootlclseJ tbe beoemoov of cotpotote boteooctocv ooJ moss ptoJoctloo tbe postmoJeto
towet ls metelv o pockooe of stooJotJlseJ spoce to be olft wtoppeJ to tbe clleots toste

Cn Lhe oLher hand 8oberL venLurl (1966) ls recoanlsed as one of Lhe flrsL Lo champlon Lhe
posLmodern movemenL sLaLlna

l llke complexltv ooJ coottoJlctloo lo otcbltectote l llke elemeots tbot ote bvbtlJs totbet
tboo pote comptomlsloo totbet tboo cleoo JlstotteJ totbet tboo sttolobtfotwotJ l om fot
tlcboess of meooloo totbet tboo clotltv of meooloo

kumar (1993) reflecLs venLurl's vlews explalnlna LhaL posLmodern archlLecLure

8teoks Jowo moJetolst Jlstloctloos betweeo blob ooJ low coltote ellte ooJ moss
ott lo ploce of tbe ootoctotlc lmposltloo of o mooolltblc toste lt occepts o Jlvetsltv of toste
coltotes wbose oeeJs lt ttles to meet bv offetloo o plotolltv of stvles

1he overrldlna concepL of modern archlLecLure ls LhaL of sclenLlflc funcLlonallsm expressed
ln bulldlnas such as Lhe Seaaram 8ulldlna" ln new ?ork or Le Corbusler's unlLe 8ulldlna"
Modernlsm holds onLo a more fundamenLal lnLellecLual orlenLaLlon lnvolvlna a rellance
upon reason and sclence o bellef tbot tbtooob totloool ooolvsls ooJ oteotet scleotlflc
ooJetstooJloo bomoos coolJ cteote o bettet wotlJ fot tbemselves (1avlor 2006) roposals
from modernlsLs such as Le Corbusler Lo rebulld Lhe LradlLlonal clLv from Lhe around up Lo
make wav for modern hlah rlse funcLlonal sLrucLured uLoplas were ofLen reaarded as
horrlfvlna experlmenLs LhaL helped Lo a rlse ln posLmodern popularlLv 1he araumenL
dlsplaved bv posLmodernlsLs was LhaL anv such radlcal bulldlnas developed wlLhln raLlonal
plannlna conLrols could noL posslblv serve all Lhe populaLlons and demoaraphlcs assoclaLed
wlLh Lhe slLe whlch are consLanLlv chanalna

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So whlle modernlsLs belleve clLles can be made beLLer bv raLlonal LhouahLs and acLlons
essenLlallv Lhrouah plannlna posLmodernlsLs conLesL Lhls ldea LhaL anv problems wlLhln
clLles can be lmproved Lhrouah plannlna 1hev belleve LhaL Lhere are no crlLerla aaalnsL
whlch we can [udae Lhe relaLlve merlLs of dlfferenL LheoreLlcal poslLlons Lhen lL follows LhaL
Lhere can be no reasoned debaLe abouL dlfferenL Lheorles aL all (1avlor 2006)?

Cne of Lhe flrsL Lo ploneer a preference for complexlLv and rlchness over slmpllclLv and
order wlLhln plannlna was !ane !acobs ln her book 1he ueaLh Llfe of CreaL Amerlcan
ClLles" (1961) ln Lvplcal posLmodern fashlon she Loo quesLlons wheLher clLles could be
lmproved Lhrouah anv sorL of raLlonal plannlna She aLLacked Lhe narrow mlnded approach
Lo modern clLv plannlna wlLh lLs slnaleuse zonlnas of areas and lLs cleansweep
comprehenslve aLLlLude Lowards redevelopmenL of so called slums" whlch expressed llLLle
Lo no undersLandlna of Lhe soclal and economlc frallLles of Lhe area She champloned Lhe
Lheorv LhaL Lhe mosL successful urban spaces where Lhose LhaL uLlllsed mlxed land uses and
on Lop of Lhls LhaL Lhose areas reaarded as slums could acLuallv be lefL alone bv planners ln
an aLLempL Lo lmprove Lhe forLunes of Lhe area bv Lhemselves !acobs (1961) explalned LhaL

lvelv Jlvetse loteose cltles cootolo tbe seeJs of tbelt owo teoeoetotloo wltb eoetov
eoooob to cottv ovet fot ptoblems ooJ oeeJs ootslJe tbemselves

8v leavlna areas Lo arow oraanlcallv !acobs clalmed LhaL Lhls would furLher lmprove Lhe
vlLallLv and varleLv of llfe ln an area creaLlna lmproved soclal lnLeracLlon and communlLv
developmenL

osLmodernlsLs wldelv belleve LhaL Lhere can be no one slnaular place LhaL ls perfecL for all
osLmodernlsm appreclaLes Lhe ldea LhaL each and everv person has Lhelr verv own ldeals
vlews oplnlons wanLs and needs from a place and Lhus Lhelr experlences of a place are far
more dlverse and complex Lo allow anv modernlsL schemes Lo flourlsh Iost os people ote
motoollv loJepeoJeot so ote oot octlvltles os exptesseJ lo cltv fotms (Lllln 2006) So whlle
Lhere can be no one Lvpe of envlronmenL LhaL ls appeaslna Lo evervone Lhe araumenL can
also be LranslaLed Lo Lhe ldea LhaL Lhere can be no slnale lnLellecLual Lheorv used Lo shape a
space or place Slmllar Lo Lhe ldeals of llberallsm and how people should be free ln everv
200324134

8

walk of llfe posLmodern plannlna re[ecLs slmpllcltv otJet oolfotmltv ooJ tlJloess and
lnsLead celebraLes complexltv Jlvetsltv Jlffeteoce ooJ plotollsm (1avlor 2006) osLmodern
plannlna Lheorv appreclaLes LhaL [usL as one person mav bask ln Lhe surrounds of Poward's
aarden clLles anoLher mav re[ecL Lhls ln place of an urban [unale llke LhaL of ManhaLLan
(1avlor 2006)

Much llke her areaL posLmodern predecessor !ane !acobs nan Lllln (2006) also expresses a
areaL undersLandlna of clLles noL [usL as phvslcal enLlLles buL as a consLanL shlfLlna and
convoluLed web of human relaLlons She Loo presenLs a sLrona case aaalnsL Lhe modernlsL
plannlna Lheorv explalnlna LhaL

1be well loteotlooeJ ooJ lo moov tespects looJoble moJeto effotts to cleoose tbe cltv of
llloess ooJ to teoJet lt mote efflcleot bove oooe too fot Jtololoo tbe llfe of tbem

Lllln (2006) presenLs Lhe concepL of loteotol utboolsm as a means of creaLlna a beLLer flow
wlLhln clLles Lhrouah manlpulaLlna Lhe quallLles of bvbtlJltv coooectlvltv potosltv
ootbeotlcltv ooJ voloetobllltv 8v comblnlna all of Lhese aLLrlbuLes Lo make a place ln flow
Lhls creaLes a more svmblotlc telotloosblp beLween people bulldlnas and Lhe landscape
surroundlna Lhem 8aLher Lhan puL forward Lhe unaLLalnable uLopla presenLed bv
modernlsLs such as Le Corbusler nan Lllln (2006) slmplv uses loteotol utboolsm Lo presenL
how our clLles should naLurallv be wlLh all Jltt JlsotJet ooJ oopteJlctobllltv lncluded

lL ls Lhls dlrL dlsorder and unpredlcLablllLv LhaL can be reaularlv found ln urban seLLlnas such
as 8old SLreeL Llverpool and lL ls Lhls LhaL makes Lhe area such a success sLorv of Lhe clLv lL
ls now an lnLearal parL of plannlna Lo declde wheLher such areas should be cleaned up" and
Lo sLop Lhe selfdlverslflcaLlon LhaL manv of Lhe people embrace and love abouL Lhe area
and Lo replace Lhls wlLh a more sLerlle sLrucLured communlLv seLLlna llke LhaL of Lhe
prlvaLlsed Llverpool Cne where Lhe people of Llverpool are conLrolled and manlpulaLed bv
sLewards and wardens ln red coaLs? lannlna musL shlfL awav from Lhls consLrucLed
communlLv and lnsLead promoLe Lhe ldeal of clLles wlLh a betetooeoeoos pobllc lo wblcb
petsoos stooJ fottb wltb tbelt Jlffeteoces ockoowleJoeJ ooJ tespecteJ tbooob petbops oot
completelv ooJetstooJ bv otbets (Parvev 2003)
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Conclusion: Postmodrnism vs. Modrnism in Planning

lannlna Lheorv lLself has experlenced anv number of chanaes slnce Lhe shlfL ln LhouahL of
Lhe 1960's when Lhe ldeals of urban deslan where replaced wlLh a more raLlonal plannlna
LhouahL lor Lhe flrsL Llme clLles were vlewed as svsLems of lnLerrelaLed acLlvlLles ln a
consLanL sLaLe of flux Lhev were examlned ln Lerms of soclal llfe and economlc acLlvlLles
Lhev were developed and planned Lhrouah a process" ln replace of a blueprlnL" approach
and plannlna was now seen as a sclence raLher Lhan an arL (1avlor 2006) lnsLead of belna
arLlsLlc urban deslaners planners were now vlewed as sclenLlflc analvsLs LhaL requlred new
skllls and a much more sLerlle approach of creaLlna spaces An lmporLance was placed upon
Lhe requlremenLs of one funcLlonal space raLher Lhan Lhe uses and needs of Lhe people ln
and around Lhe space

8eaardless of Lhls dlre chanae Lo a more raLlonal process of plannlna Lhe Lown planner was
sLlll wldelv reaarded as someone who held a sklll LhaL Lhe averaae person dld noL possess
Lhus maklna plannlna such a hlahlv reaarded professlon Powever lL was from Lhe 60's LhaL
people beaan Lo quesLlon wheLher planners reallv dld have anv areaLer ablllLv Lo make anv
plannlna [udaemenLs Lhan someone who llves and works ln Lhe areas Lhev propose Lo
develop WlLh Lhe fallure of much of Lhe modernlsL approach Lo plannlna lL would appear
LhaL planners dld noL possess anv areaLer sklll!

1avlor (2006) hlahllahLs LhaL

wbot ls bettet ls o mottet of voloe ooJ ploooets bove oo sopetlot expettlse lo mokloo voloe
joJoemeots oboot eovltoomeotol optloos owevet tbe vlew ls stlll tokeo tbot tbe towo
ploooet possesses some speclollst sklll oomelv sklll lo mooooloo tbe ptocess of ottlvloo ot
ploooloo Jeclsloos

1he fallouL from all of Lhls ls LhaL Lhe planner ls now seen as more of an ldenLlfler medlaLor
or faclllLaLor of a ranae of dlfferenL ldeas and proposals from a vasL arrav of dlfferenL
lnLeresL aroups ln Lhe plannlna process Lhls ls seen as Lhe parLnershlp approach
200324134

10


1he besL example of Lhls parLnershlp approach can be seen uslna Lhe Lul as lL uses
documenLs from Lhe publlc Lhe aovernmenL and prlvaLe oraanlsaLlons Lo creaLe a more
hollsLlc approach Lo deslanlna clLv spaces 1he Lul conslsLs of a ranae of documenLs
lncludlna Lhe core sLraLeav Lhe developmenL plans and anv oLher supplemenLarv plannlna
documenLs 8v uslna Lhe Lul as Lhe basls Lo all plannlna and bulldlna developmenLs we are
able Lo follow Lhe calls of !acobs (1961) and Lllln (2006) ln creaLlna a more bespoke llne of
aLLack for each unlque slLuaLlon and Lhus allow for creaLlna spaces Lo sulL Lhe needs of Lhe
people 1he sLrucLure of Lhe Local uevelopmenL lramework ls Lhe kev Lo Lhe 8rlLlsh spaLlal
plannlna svsLem provldlna a speclallsed seL of auldance LhaL ls speclflc Lo each complex
locallLv
?eL whlle Lhe spaLlal plannlna realme of 8rlLaln conLlnues Lo herald Lhe posLmodern
approach of Lhe Lul Lhere ls sLlll one kev Lool used LhaL ls ofLen crlLlclsed bv
posLmodernlsLs 1he MasLerplan MasLerplannlna ls wldelv used Lo creaLe a clear framework
for Lhe deLalled deslan of a larae area or developmenL slLe osLmodernlsLs such as Lllln
(2006) belleve LhaL MasLerplans are for Lhose who are obsesseJ wltb coottol and who are
desperaLe Lo Jetetmloe ootcomes ?eL MasLerplannlna could veL be used Lo creaLe a more
posLmodern flow Lo Lhe clLv especlallv lf used ln con[uncLlon wlLh Lhe vlews and needs of
Lhe people and Lhe Lul lf a MasLerplan ls deslaned wlLh an alm Lo allow Lhlnas Lo happen
wlLhln a space and ls produced for Lhe people who lnhablL LhaL space Lhen a rlch and
lrreduclble space can be Lhe compleLed ouLcome Lhrouah Lhe successful lmplemenLaLlon of
boLh lnLulLlve and raLlonal processes

lL ls clear LhaL whlle posLmodernlsm cerLalnlv has lLs values and aLLracLlon so Loo does
modernlsm and Lheorles relaLed Lo lL 1he kev Lo a successful fuLure ln Lown plannlna has Lo
be ln sLrlklna Lhe balance beLween Lhe comprehenslve raLlonal ldeals of modernlsm and Lhe
complex plurallsLlc vlews of posLmodernlsm lL ls hearLenlna Lo see LhaL Lhese Lheorles are
belna Laken on board Lhrouah Lhe collaboraLlve use of MasLerplans and Luls 1avlor (2006)
summarlses Lhe slLuaLlon wlLh mosL accuracv ln sLaLlna

200324134

11

1be ttotb ls tbete ote Jlffeteot tvpes of ploooloo tbeotles ooswetloo Jlffeteot ooestloos
5cleotlflc tbeotles seek to lmptove oot ooJetstooJloo of tbe wotlJ tbot towo ploooloo ls
Jeolloo wltb locloJloo tbe effects of Jlffeteot kloJs of ploooeJ octloos oo tbe wotlJ 8ot
towo ploooloo exlsts to lmptove tbe wotlJ oot jost ooJetstooJ lt 1betefote pbllosopblcol
teflectloo oo tbe potposes of ploooloo socb os tbot wblcb postmoJetolsm bos ptompteJ ls
olso ceottol to ploooloo tbeotv


200324134

12

frncs

A||mend|nger lloooloo lo lost MoJeto 1lmes 8ouLledae London 2003

A||mend|nger 1ewdwrIones M lloooloo lototes New ultectloos fot lloooloo 1beotv
kootleJoe ooJoo 2002

er A k ueslooloo cltles ctltlcol keoJloos lo utboo uesloo 8lockwell ooJoo 200J

L|||n N loteotol utboolsm 8ouLledae Cxon 2006

Iacos I 1be ueotb ooJ lfe of Cteot Ametlcoo cltles New )otk vlotooe 1961


ee|e | 1932 prlnclples and pracLlce of Lown and counLrv plannlna esLaLes aazeLLe
London

1ay|or N utboo lloooloo 1beotv 5loce 1945 Saae ubllcaLlons London 2006

Ienr| k complexltv ooJ coottoJlctloo lo Atcbltectote new ?ork Museum of Modern ArL
1966

ear M I 1986 osLmodernlsm and plannlna ovltoomeot ooJ lloooloo u 5ocletv ooJ
5poce (3) 367 384



av|s M 1983 urban renalssance and Lhe splrlL of posLmodernlsm New eft kevlew
number 131 106113