Intermediary Organisations and the Liquid Regulation of Urban Planning in England

Abstract

The chapter draws on recent writings in political studies examining the role of intermediaries in the development and implementation of development planning regulation. It develops recent, but relatively abstract, arguments on liquid regulation and the growing power of non-governmental organisations and applies them to the increasingly market-driven English planning context. Drawing on a comparison and contrast of two of the most significant intermediary organisations in the English planning system, the Royal Town Planning Institute and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, the chapter critically assesses the organisation, roles, and regulatory influences of intermediaries in shaping recent reforms. It argues that a stronger focus on such organisations sheds light on the growing importance of softer, more liquid modes of regulation, organisational legitimation, and authority-making in shaping policy practices and outcomes. The chapter concludes by highlighting directions for future research and conceptual-methodological approaches in urban studies.