The discourse of planning as a power tool: What we can learn from the case study of Mashhad's master plan, Iran

IF 6 1区经济学 Q1 URBAN STUDIES

Cities Pub Date : 2025-05-27 DOI:10.1016/j.cities.2025.106117

Maryam Daneshvar

{"title":"The discourse of planning as a power tool: What we can learn from the case study of Mashhad's master plan, Iran","authors":"Maryam Daneshvar","doi":"10.1016/j.cities.2025.106117","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Over the past two centuries, researchers have proposed numerous solutions to urban issues, but most have adopted a static approach. Mashhad's Master Plan highlights a gap between contemporary urban planning practices and traditional theories, which has emerged through a discursive transformation driven by shifts in power between national and local authorities. This research aims to uncover the planning rationality behind Mashhad City's development and examine the influence of power. It explores the interplay between power dynamics and planning discourse using qualitative, case study, and longitudinal methods. Data collection included 15 years of participatory observation, a review of 29 planning documents, 211 published interviews, 41 semi-structured interviews (conducted in 2014 and 2021), and four focus group sessions (conducted in 2021 and 2024). The study utilized stakeholder analysis tools and Foucault's genealogical method to analyze the data. The research identified two key power groups in Mashhad City: local and national powers. The genealogy of the plan preparation process reveals a discursive shift from instrumental to substantial rationality. By integrating power and planning discourse through adaptive rationality, the panarchy model, and the interest-power matrix, a new planning model for Mashhad City emerges. This model demonstrates that planning discourse is fundamentally shaped by power dynamics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48405,"journal":{"name":"Cities","volume":"165 ","pages":"Article 106117"},"PeriodicalIF":6.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Cities","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264275125004172","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"URBAN STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Over the past two centuries, researchers have proposed numerous solutions to urban issues, but most have adopted a static approach. Mashhad's Master Plan highlights a gap between contemporary urban planning practices and traditional theories, which has emerged through a discursive transformation driven by shifts in power between national and local authorities. This research aims to uncover the planning rationality behind Mashhad City's development and examine the influence of power. It explores the interplay between power dynamics and planning discourse using qualitative, case study, and longitudinal methods. Data collection included 15 years of participatory observation, a review of 29 planning documents, 211 published interviews, 41 semi-structured interviews (conducted in 2014 and 2021), and four focus group sessions (conducted in 2021 and 2024). The study utilized stakeholder analysis tools and Foucault's genealogical method to analyze the data. The research identified two key power groups in Mashhad City: local and national powers. The genealogy of the plan preparation process reveals a discursive shift from instrumental to substantial rationality. By integrating power and planning discourse through adaptive rationality, the panarchy model, and the interest-power matrix, a new planning model for Mashhad City emerges. This model demonstrates that planning discourse is fundamentally shaped by power dynamics.

查看原文本刊更多论文

规划作为权力工具的论述：我们可以从伊朗马什哈德总体规划的案例研究中学到什么

在过去的两个世纪里，研究人员提出了许多解决城市问题的方法，但大多数都采用了静态方法。马什哈德的总体规划突出了当代城市规划实践与传统理论之间的差距，这种差距是在国家和地方当局之间权力转移的推动下出现的。本研究旨在揭示马什哈德城市发展背后的规划理性，审视权力的影响。它探讨了权力动力学和规划话语使用定性，案例研究和纵向方法之间的相互作用。数据收集包括15年的参与式观察、对29份规划文件的审查、211次已发表访谈、41次半结构化访谈（2014年和2021年进行）以及4次焦点小组会议（2021年和2024年进行）。本研究利用利益相关者分析工具和福柯的系谱法对数据进行分析。该研究确定了马什哈德市的两个主要权力集团：地方权力集团和国家权力集团。计划准备过程的谱系揭示了从工具理性到实体理性的话语转变。通过适应性理性、层级制模型和利益-权力矩阵，将权力与规划话语整合在一起，形成了一种新的马什哈德城市规划模式。该模型表明，规划话语从根本上是由权力动力学塑造的。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Cities URBAN STUDIES-

CiteScore

11.20

自引率

9.00%

发文量

517

期刊介绍： Cities offers a comprehensive range of articles on all aspects of urban policy. It provides an international and interdisciplinary platform for the exchange of ideas and information between urban planners and policy makers from national and local government, non-government organizations, academia and consultancy. The primary aims of the journal are to analyse and assess past and present urban development and management as a reflection of effective, ineffective and non-existent planning policies; and the promotion of the implementation of appropriate urban policies in both the developed and the developing world.