Australian Urban Planners: Hybrid Roles and Professional Dilemmas?
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Author(s)
Steele, Wendy
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2009
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ABSTRACT This article argues that a hybrid role for urban planners has emerged within the largely neoliberalised spaces of contemporary Australian governance. This role is one that transcends previously rigid or clearly defined sectoral positions to blend public, private and community responsibilities in novel and complex ways. The first section of the article briefly sketches the historical shifts that have led to this hitherto unseen hybrid role. The second section explores the notion of hybridity as a paradoxical professional 'third space' where dominant ideological discourses shaping planning practices such as neoliberalism ...
View more >ABSTRACT This article argues that a hybrid role for urban planners has emerged within the largely neoliberalised spaces of contemporary Australian governance. This role is one that transcends previously rigid or clearly defined sectoral positions to blend public, private and community responsibilities in novel and complex ways. The first section of the article briefly sketches the historical shifts that have led to this hitherto unseen hybrid role. The second section explores the notion of hybridity as a paradoxical professional 'third space' where dominant ideological discourses shaping planning practices such as neoliberalism can be both resisted and/or reinforced. Whilst the third section of the article shifts to ground the hybridity metaphor in real people and places through selected narratives from case study research into the shift to performance-based planning in Queensland under the 'Integrated Planning Act 1997'. Finally, the future of this hybrid professional role is considered within the context of an uncertain global financial climate. KEY WORDS: Hybridity, urban planner, neoliberalism, professionalism
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View more >ABSTRACT This article argues that a hybrid role for urban planners has emerged within the largely neoliberalised spaces of contemporary Australian governance. This role is one that transcends previously rigid or clearly defined sectoral positions to blend public, private and community responsibilities in novel and complex ways. The first section of the article briefly sketches the historical shifts that have led to this hitherto unseen hybrid role. The second section explores the notion of hybridity as a paradoxical professional 'third space' where dominant ideological discourses shaping planning practices such as neoliberalism can be both resisted and/or reinforced. Whilst the third section of the article shifts to ground the hybridity metaphor in real people and places through selected narratives from case study research into the shift to performance-based planning in Queensland under the 'Integrated Planning Act 1997'. Finally, the future of this hybrid professional role is considered within the context of an uncertain global financial climate. KEY WORDS: Hybridity, urban planner, neoliberalism, professionalism
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Journal Title
Urban Policy and Research
Volume
27
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© 2009 Routledge. This is an electronic version of an article published in Urban Policy and Research Volume 27, Issue 2 June 2009 , pages 189 - 203. Urban Policy and Research is available online at: http://www.informaworld.com with the open URL of your article.
Subject
Urban and Regional Planning not elsewhere classified
Urban and Regional Planning
Human Geography
Policy and Administration