Angelique Chettiparamb | University of Reading (original) (raw)

Papers by Angelique Chettiparamb

‘Responsible tourism’ is a concept that overlaps significantly with concepts of sustainable touri... more ‘Responsible tourism’ is a concept that overlaps significantly with concepts of sustainable tourism, ethical tourism, pro-poor tourism and integrated tourism, but differs from these in the emphasis it places on the role of businesses in achieving sustainability. The genesis of the concept is squarely within the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate social investment (CSI) practices of business concerns (George and Frey, 2010). The international appeal of the concept can be partly explained by the increased wider interest in CSR activities and the centrality given to the involvement and engagement of the private sector in managing impacts of tourism, in which the private sector is not only a fast growing presence but the major provider of experiences and services in most destinations worldwide (Ashley, 2005). Thus, besides offering a normative appeal, ‘responsible tourism’ also offers a pragmatic approach to plan and develop tourism in such a way that it could benefit the stakeholders at the destination communities. In this paper, we discuss a case study of the implementation of responsible tourism practices in Kumarakom, Kerala, India. Through the case study we seek to emphasise the role of the public sector and the local planning authority in the promotion, implementation and regulation of sustainable responsible tourism practices. In particular, we emphasise the key brokering role of planning in i) devising forums of broad based consultation; ii) locating and leveraging various interests and powers to plan and design particular tourism strategies which benefit the locality; iii) articulating space related adaptations of generic policy concerns; and iv) ensuring and managing tourism growth in tandem with a redistribution/welfare agenda

International Planning Studies, Feb 1, 2010

... within industry, facilitated by technological advances and changes in industrial organization... more ... within industry, facilitated by technological advances and changes in industrial organization, meant that companies needed to more ... 10 Partnership, Collaborative Planning and UrbanRegeneration such areas, who suffered from a heightened incidence of unemployment, crime ...

Journal of International Development, Apr 28, 2011

Planning Theory, Jan 18, 2022

The European Journal of Development Research, Apr 23, 2009

This paper discusses the implementation of the provision of school meals in Kodungallur in Kerala... more This paper discusses the implementation of the provision of school meals in Kodungallur in Kerala, India as a case of how vertical inter-governmental synergies and horizontal local linkages are brought together in programme design and implementation. The empirical data were collected for a larger cross-national study looking into homegrown school feeding undertaken by Morgan et al commissioned by the World

Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, Nov 1, 2012

This issue of JPRiTLE is a dialogue between the two disciplinary and professional domains of spat... more This issue of JPRiTLE is a dialogue between the two disciplinary and professional domains of spatial planning and tourism. Some of the overlaps of interest between tourism development and policy, and spatial planning policy, are beginning to develop a systematic literature. Hayllar, Griffin, and Edwards (2008), for example, point out that tourism activity in cities is geographically concentrated. The so-called precincts in which tourism can often be concentrated are both part of, and distinctive within, the city. How these connections between the city and the precinct work, and what their socio-economic and cultural implications might be, are questions which exercise policy-makers in spatial planning as well as tourism. These are simply a sample of questions which demonstrate some coincidences of interest between spatial planners and tourism policy-makers. In this issue, however, our focus is different. Professions and disciplines are partly constituted by distinctive ways of seeing the world; what we might call distinctive gazes. These gazes are inevitably spatial, as spatial relations are co-constituted with social relations. The significance of the spatiality of tourism – and particularly its relationship to places and their meanings for people – has been recognised for decades, for example, in discussions of urban tourism, and tourism geographies more generally (Mugerauer, 2009; Nepal, 2009). In examining tourism-related issues, through a planning lens, we hope here to reverse what can be termed the ‘gaze’ of the narrator. So, instead of looking at issues in communities and places from the position of a tourism policy-maker or analyst, in this issue we encourage a gaze at tourism from the broader society. A gaze that emanates from society, and planning for society, to the role of tourism and the contribution it makes to the society and planning for society. What then does such a gaze entail? Simply stated the concern in such a focus moves to the meaning and power of tourism to an external observer, a non-tourist. It raises issues of embeddedness and interaction that go beyond the seductive qualities of tourism to reveal and repair the disjunctions and overflows that make up tourism when viewed from the perspective of communities, societies and places. In such a project, the very rationale of tourism is called into question and the interrogation of tourism is not any more exclusively on goals set within the tourism and for tourism. Places then are more than ‘destinations’, arguably a dominant term in tourism studies that reifies the touristic gaze by reducing the complex realities of lived experiences in a location to one that is essentially tourist centred. The emphasis then is not so much on the creation of new attractive ‘tourist bubbles’ (Magerauer, 2009, p. 303), but is more on the liveability and attractiveness of ordinary spaces as well. Communities are more than ‘local communities’ that populate touristic destinations, staking instead a claim to be the ultimate client in tourism ventures. Recognising this in a number of studies of spatial planning’s engagement with tourism unearths a number

Planning Theory, Mar 1, 2006

This article reviews the use of complexity theory in planning theory using the theory of metaphor... more This article reviews the use of complexity theory in planning theory using the theory of metaphors for theory transfer and theory construction. The introduction to the article presents the author's positioning of planning theory. The first section thereafter provides a general background of the trajectory of development of complexity theory and discusses the rationale of using the theory of metaphors for evaluating the use of complexity theory in planning. The second section introduces the workings of metaphors in general and theory-constructing metaphors in particular, drawing out an understanding of how to proceed with an evaluative approach towards an analysis of the use of complexity theory in planning. The third section presents two case studies-reviews of two articles-to illustrate how the framework might be employed. It then discusses the implications of the evaluation for the question 'can complexity theory contribute to planning?' The concluding section discusses the employment of the 'theory of metaphors' for evaluating theory transfer and draws out normative suggestions for engaging in theory transfer using the metaphorical route.

Disp, Oct 1, 2020

The role of national and international associations of planning schools in the promotion of plann... more The role of national and international associations of planning schools in the promotion of planning education has attracted increasing interest globally over the past few years. This paper provides a history concerning the involvement of the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) in planning education and discusses recent deliberations and decisions on the long-standing issue of AESOP's role in promoting quality in planning education across member schools. The AESOP Quality Recognition (QR) Programme today is to be understood as a peer-to-peer service whose role is to support the development and enhancement of planning programmes of member schools through quality recognition, sharing and mutual learning.

Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, Nov 1, 2012

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the notion of 'responsible tourism' and its current... more ABSTRACT This paper discusses the notion of 'responsible tourism' and its current use within the tourism literature. We argue that the concept as used currently means everything and therefore adds nothing to the conceptual terrain of tourism trends and nomenclatures. We then introduce our own understanding of the concept arguing that while responsible tourism is linked to sustainability initiatives such as alternative tourism, ecotourism, ethical tourism, green tourism, soft tourism, pro-poor tourism, geo-tourism, integrated tourism, community-based tourism, etc it also demarcates an analytical realm of its own. We suggest that the practical use of the term in areas where it has been adopted (such as South Africa and Kerala for instance) suggests a rather restricted use. We identified this realm as the tourism sector-specific manifestation of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) agenda. Following Flyvberg's [(2006). Five misunderstandings about case-study research. Qualitative Inquiry, 12(2), 219-245] call for exemplars and paradigmatic case studies to advance knowledge in a particular domain, the responsible tourism initiative in Kumarakon, Kerala, is presented. Discussion of the case study traces the particular governance context of Kerala and the position of tourism in the state economy. The responsible tourism initiatives at the state level and local level are then described highlighting the 'how' of the implementation and the impact that it has produced. Generic, non-prescriptive principles that could be said to be necessary in some form for the successful translation of responsible tourism principles to practices are then identified. Such an approach is contrasted with one that places faith in the voluntary adoption of 'responsible' practices by the private sector on its own. It is argued that responsible tourism can make a contribution to practice provided the conceptual terrain is delineated against other forms of tourism and if research within the terrain can unpack the particular forms of challenges that are thrown up by the delineation itself.

Planning Theory, Aug 13, 2018

This essay introduces the theory of legal autopoiesis to planning. It discusses the main tenets o... more This essay introduces the theory of legal autopoiesis to planning. It discusses the main tenets of neo-systems thinking and elaborates on select claims and concepts from legal autopoiesis for planners. The claims and concepts are then used to re-analyse a published case study describing the after effects of the implementation of a Compulsory Purchase Order in the regeneration of the Docklands in Cardiff. The re-interpretation draws attention to the added insights brought into focus by the theory. The significance of neo-systems thinking for planning is then discussed. The paper concludes that the new epistemological framings connects the universal to the particular with implications for current understandings of planning concepts such as public interest, consensus, situatedness, contingency and justice. The article argues that neo-systems thinking deconstructs 'how to' dilemmas for planners from a non-normative standpoint at a meta-operational level.

Journal of International Development, 2007

... Later it was used more generally to inform structure-agency dualism, and questions surroundin... more ... Later it was used more generally to inform structure-agency dualism, and questions surrounding it ... 13It must be remembered that though external support from lawyers and courts helped reinforce ... a mechanism that is effective in the second order, that is to structure action, not to ...

Planning Theory, 2019

This article discusses three aspects in relation to complexity theory. First, from an understandi... more This article discusses three aspects in relation to complexity theory. First, from an understanding of time and space specificities in the rise of theories, it discusses the wider sociopolitical reasons that may account for the rise of Complexity Theory and its interest for planners today. The rise of the third sector in governance; the decentralisation of the nation state; the rise of informality; the exponential rise of information and knowledge in every sphere of human and non-human activity and the rise of new normative ideologies are argued to provide the social context for interest in Complexity Theory. Second, this article positions complexity theory within general social science theories and argues that complexity theory best suits the second order realm of social science theorisation. Third, this article positions complexity theory within planning theory and suggests that complexity theorists within planning might engage with the theory in three ways. These are by suggesting new ways of ordering of society and space by configuring or re-configuring planning systems in the first order; unravelling new opportunities for actors to work in society and space with largely selforganised entities and finally by searching for and discovering new dynamics for systems in the first order in society and space.

Transactions, Apr 1, 2008

This paper reports upon attitudes, initiatives and hurdles in the incorporation of prior learning... more This paper reports upon attitudes, initiatives and hurdles in the incorporation of prior learning in the discipline of planning within one higher education institution in Wales in the UK. Incorporation of prior learning in higher education (HE) is placed as a normative value within the context of increasing diversity in HE promoted through widening access policies, the internationalisation of education and the drive towards interdisciplinarity. It documents challenges that staff face at the delivery end of teaching, the ways in which they attempt to negotiate the difficulties they face, and the institutional resources that come/do not come into play to aid this process. By focusing on the delivery end, this systematic documentation brings together otherwise disparate knowledge, allowing for a fuller appreciation of HE provision in contemporary UK. These descriptions it is argued, can also help generalise and normalise ways in which diversity might be addressed through learning, teaching and assessment in higher education.

Planning Theory, Dec 10, 2020

International Planning Studies, Jun 17, 2019

This article engages with two published case studies describing participation in planning, a much... more This article engages with two published case studies describing participation in planning, a much-discussed aspect of spatial planning. After a brief review of the arguments advanced in the articles, the case studies are reinterpreted using the theory of social autopoiesis as advanced by Niklas Luhmann, in particular, one concept from the theory interaction systems. The re-analysis yields two results: it illustrates the added contribution that the theory can make to understand public participation in spatial planning, but also highlights particular issues in relation to participatory planning and its use in spatial planning.

Vikalpa, 2010

2005 was another important year, as the Gujarat Urban Renewal Mission was launched under the UDUH... more 2005 was another important year, as the Gujarat Urban Renewal Mission was launched under the UDUHD, headed by the Chief Minister, with the Minister of Urban Development as its Vice Chairperson, and 15 other members on the Board, including the Chief Secretary and the secretaries of the key government departments. The key objective of the mission was to mobilize resources through market for financing investments in infrastructure development. Municipalities and the Corporations are governed by the Gujarat Municipalities (Nagarpalika) Act, 1963 and the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations (BPMC) Act, 1949, respectively. They cover almost all the functions of the urban local bodies (ULBs) prescribed in the 'Twelfth Schedule,' Article 243 of the 74th Constitutional amendment. However, the Government of Gujarat made certain amendments in Sections 63 and 66 of the Acts in 1993 to meet the requirements of the Constitution amendment. Most of these amendments are not substantial in terms of assigned functions. The major amendment is related to added reservation of seats for women and backward classes. The amended Act also provides reservation for SC, ST, backward classes, and women for the office of the Mayor. A new section was added making provision for the "Constitution of Ward committees" in the cities with population of three lakhs or more. The urban population of Gujarat is quite substantial, at 26 per cent of the State's population in 1961, and growing to 38 per cent in 2001. This study is based on data from two major cities in Gujarat, namely, Surat and Junagarh. Surat Surat, located in Southern Gujarat, on the Arabian Sea coast, is Gujarat's second-largest city as well as an important commercial and industrial hub. It is one of India's fastest growing cities, with the population growing from 317,000 in 1961 to 2.8 million in 2001. Surat became a Municipal Corporation in 1964, and today, has the highest per capita revenue of all the 7 Municipal Corporations in the state, at Rs.1,901. Surat has a Citizens' Charter and has also received an award for the country's best grievance redressal system. However, the system is pre-structured in a way that complaints related to policy decisions remain outside its scope. Junagadh A city in the Saurashtra peninsula of Western Gujarat with a population of around 250,000, Junagadh is home to Gujarat's smallest and newest Municipal Corporation, established in 2004. The city of Junagadh has had a historically low rate of growth, rising from 74,000 in 1961 to 180,000 in 2001, and has the lowest per capita revenue in the state, at Rs.107. E-governance in Junagadh is more or less on paper and the complaint redressal system is at a rudimentary stage. Sanitation In terms of sanitation, Surat saw a great deal of action in the aftermath of the plague outbreak in the city during the early 1990s and the floods experienced in the mid-2000s. This led to the construction of water treatment plants, sewage treatment plants, bunds and embankments, and new systems for solid waste management. The private sector came to be involved in the day-today management, maintenance, and repair of the city's new sewage treatment plant as well as in solid waste collection. Micro-level plans were drawn up for each ward by the municipal authorities, with great attention to detail, even down to the design of footpaths and garbage bins. The number of sweepers was increased from 3,085 in 1994 to 4,886 in 2008, with an average of 50 sweepers per ward, private agencies being hired wherever there were shortfalls. Private contractors hired for collection, transportation, and disposal of solid waste, and special biomedical waste and hazardous waste treatment plants have been set up through collaboration between the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) and private corporations and associations. Public toilets were another problem area in the early-to mid-1990s, with only 20 per cent of the slum-dwellers in Surat having access to public toilets in 1991, and only 2 per cent with toilets in their own homes. This shortfall led to a huge health hazard due to defecation in the open. However, through collaboration with NGOs as well as public sector corporations such as HUDCO, by 2006, access to toilets among Surat's slum population was close to 97 per cent. Overall, Surat has seen a remarkable positive change in urban governance, and SMC has even received the Dubai International Award for Urban Governance in Environment and Public Health Management. However, SMC has been effective in monitoring biomedical waste and industrial effluent.

Planning Theory, Mar 17, 2016

Environment and Planning C-government and Policy, Jul 27, 2016

The 'Public interest', even if viewed with ambiguity or scepticism, has been one of the primary m... more The 'Public interest', even if viewed with ambiguity or scepticism, has been one of the primary means by which various professional roles of planners have been justified. Many objections to the concept have been advanced by writers in planning academia. Notwithstanding these, 'public interest' continues to be mobilised, to justify, defend or argue for planning interventions and reforms. This has led to arguments that planning will have to adopt and recognise some form of public interest in practice eto legitimise itself.. This paper explores current debates around public interest and social justice and advances a vision of the public interest informed by complexity theory. The empirical context of the paper is the poverty alleviation programme, the Kudumbashree project in Kerala, India.

‘Responsible tourism’ is a concept that overlaps significantly with concepts of sustainable touri... more ‘Responsible tourism’ is a concept that overlaps significantly with concepts of sustainable tourism, ethical tourism, pro-poor tourism and integrated tourism, but differs from these in the emphasis it places on the role of businesses in achieving sustainability. The genesis of the concept is squarely within the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate social investment (CSI) practices of business concerns (George and Frey, 2010). The international appeal of the concept can be partly explained by the increased wider interest in CSR activities and the centrality given to the involvement and engagement of the private sector in managing impacts of tourism, in which the private sector is not only a fast growing presence but the major provider of experiences and services in most destinations worldwide (Ashley, 2005). Thus, besides offering a normative appeal, ‘responsible tourism’ also offers a pragmatic approach to plan and develop tourism in such a way that it could benefit the stakeholders at the destination communities. In this paper, we discuss a case study of the implementation of responsible tourism practices in Kumarakom, Kerala, India. Through the case study we seek to emphasise the role of the public sector and the local planning authority in the promotion, implementation and regulation of sustainable responsible tourism practices. In particular, we emphasise the key brokering role of planning in i) devising forums of broad based consultation; ii) locating and leveraging various interests and powers to plan and design particular tourism strategies which benefit the locality; iii) articulating space related adaptations of generic policy concerns; and iv) ensuring and managing tourism growth in tandem with a redistribution/welfare agenda

International Planning Studies, Feb 1, 2010

... within industry, facilitated by technological advances and changes in industrial organization... more ... within industry, facilitated by technological advances and changes in industrial organization, meant that companies needed to more ... 10 Partnership, Collaborative Planning and UrbanRegeneration such areas, who suffered from a heightened incidence of unemployment, crime ...

Journal of International Development, Apr 28, 2011

Planning Theory, Jan 18, 2022

The European Journal of Development Research, Apr 23, 2009

This paper discusses the implementation of the provision of school meals in Kodungallur in Kerala... more This paper discusses the implementation of the provision of school meals in Kodungallur in Kerala, India as a case of how vertical inter-governmental synergies and horizontal local linkages are brought together in programme design and implementation. The empirical data were collected for a larger cross-national study looking into homegrown school feeding undertaken by Morgan et al commissioned by the World

Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, Nov 1, 2012

This issue of JPRiTLE is a dialogue between the two disciplinary and professional domains of spat... more This issue of JPRiTLE is a dialogue between the two disciplinary and professional domains of spatial planning and tourism. Some of the overlaps of interest between tourism development and policy, and spatial planning policy, are beginning to develop a systematic literature. Hayllar, Griffin, and Edwards (2008), for example, point out that tourism activity in cities is geographically concentrated. The so-called precincts in which tourism can often be concentrated are both part of, and distinctive within, the city. How these connections between the city and the precinct work, and what their socio-economic and cultural implications might be, are questions which exercise policy-makers in spatial planning as well as tourism. These are simply a sample of questions which demonstrate some coincidences of interest between spatial planners and tourism policy-makers. In this issue, however, our focus is different. Professions and disciplines are partly constituted by distinctive ways of seeing the world; what we might call distinctive gazes. These gazes are inevitably spatial, as spatial relations are co-constituted with social relations. The significance of the spatiality of tourism – and particularly its relationship to places and their meanings for people – has been recognised for decades, for example, in discussions of urban tourism, and tourism geographies more generally (Mugerauer, 2009; Nepal, 2009). In examining tourism-related issues, through a planning lens, we hope here to reverse what can be termed the ‘gaze’ of the narrator. So, instead of looking at issues in communities and places from the position of a tourism policy-maker or analyst, in this issue we encourage a gaze at tourism from the broader society. A gaze that emanates from society, and planning for society, to the role of tourism and the contribution it makes to the society and planning for society. What then does such a gaze entail? Simply stated the concern in such a focus moves to the meaning and power of tourism to an external observer, a non-tourist. It raises issues of embeddedness and interaction that go beyond the seductive qualities of tourism to reveal and repair the disjunctions and overflows that make up tourism when viewed from the perspective of communities, societies and places. In such a project, the very rationale of tourism is called into question and the interrogation of tourism is not any more exclusively on goals set within the tourism and for tourism. Places then are more than ‘destinations’, arguably a dominant term in tourism studies that reifies the touristic gaze by reducing the complex realities of lived experiences in a location to one that is essentially tourist centred. The emphasis then is not so much on the creation of new attractive ‘tourist bubbles’ (Magerauer, 2009, p. 303), but is more on the liveability and attractiveness of ordinary spaces as well. Communities are more than ‘local communities’ that populate touristic destinations, staking instead a claim to be the ultimate client in tourism ventures. Recognising this in a number of studies of spatial planning’s engagement with tourism unearths a number

Planning Theory, Mar 1, 2006

This article reviews the use of complexity theory in planning theory using the theory of metaphor... more This article reviews the use of complexity theory in planning theory using the theory of metaphors for theory transfer and theory construction. The introduction to the article presents the author's positioning of planning theory. The first section thereafter provides a general background of the trajectory of development of complexity theory and discusses the rationale of using the theory of metaphors for evaluating the use of complexity theory in planning. The second section introduces the workings of metaphors in general and theory-constructing metaphors in particular, drawing out an understanding of how to proceed with an evaluative approach towards an analysis of the use of complexity theory in planning. The third section presents two case studies-reviews of two articles-to illustrate how the framework might be employed. It then discusses the implications of the evaluation for the question 'can complexity theory contribute to planning?' The concluding section discusses the employment of the 'theory of metaphors' for evaluating theory transfer and draws out normative suggestions for engaging in theory transfer using the metaphorical route.

Disp, Oct 1, 2020

The role of national and international associations of planning schools in the promotion of plann... more The role of national and international associations of planning schools in the promotion of planning education has attracted increasing interest globally over the past few years. This paper provides a history concerning the involvement of the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP) in planning education and discusses recent deliberations and decisions on the long-standing issue of AESOP's role in promoting quality in planning education across member schools. The AESOP Quality Recognition (QR) Programme today is to be understood as a peer-to-peer service whose role is to support the development and enhancement of planning programmes of member schools through quality recognition, sharing and mutual learning.

Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, Nov 1, 2012

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the notion of 'responsible tourism' and its current... more ABSTRACT This paper discusses the notion of 'responsible tourism' and its current use within the tourism literature. We argue that the concept as used currently means everything and therefore adds nothing to the conceptual terrain of tourism trends and nomenclatures. We then introduce our own understanding of the concept arguing that while responsible tourism is linked to sustainability initiatives such as alternative tourism, ecotourism, ethical tourism, green tourism, soft tourism, pro-poor tourism, geo-tourism, integrated tourism, community-based tourism, etc it also demarcates an analytical realm of its own. We suggest that the practical use of the term in areas where it has been adopted (such as South Africa and Kerala for instance) suggests a rather restricted use. We identified this realm as the tourism sector-specific manifestation of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) agenda. Following Flyvberg's [(2006). Five misunderstandings about case-study research. Qualitative Inquiry, 12(2), 219-245] call for exemplars and paradigmatic case studies to advance knowledge in a particular domain, the responsible tourism initiative in Kumarakon, Kerala, is presented. Discussion of the case study traces the particular governance context of Kerala and the position of tourism in the state economy. The responsible tourism initiatives at the state level and local level are then described highlighting the 'how' of the implementation and the impact that it has produced. Generic, non-prescriptive principles that could be said to be necessary in some form for the successful translation of responsible tourism principles to practices are then identified. Such an approach is contrasted with one that places faith in the voluntary adoption of 'responsible' practices by the private sector on its own. It is argued that responsible tourism can make a contribution to practice provided the conceptual terrain is delineated against other forms of tourism and if research within the terrain can unpack the particular forms of challenges that are thrown up by the delineation itself.

Planning Theory, Aug 13, 2018

This essay introduces the theory of legal autopoiesis to planning. It discusses the main tenets o... more This essay introduces the theory of legal autopoiesis to planning. It discusses the main tenets of neo-systems thinking and elaborates on select claims and concepts from legal autopoiesis for planners. The claims and concepts are then used to re-analyse a published case study describing the after effects of the implementation of a Compulsory Purchase Order in the regeneration of the Docklands in Cardiff. The re-interpretation draws attention to the added insights brought into focus by the theory. The significance of neo-systems thinking for planning is then discussed. The paper concludes that the new epistemological framings connects the universal to the particular with implications for current understandings of planning concepts such as public interest, consensus, situatedness, contingency and justice. The article argues that neo-systems thinking deconstructs 'how to' dilemmas for planners from a non-normative standpoint at a meta-operational level.

Journal of International Development, 2007

... Later it was used more generally to inform structure-agency dualism, and questions surroundin... more ... Later it was used more generally to inform structure-agency dualism, and questions surrounding it ... 13It must be remembered that though external support from lawyers and courts helped reinforce ... a mechanism that is effective in the second order, that is to structure action, not to ...

Planning Theory, 2019

This article discusses three aspects in relation to complexity theory. First, from an understandi... more This article discusses three aspects in relation to complexity theory. First, from an understanding of time and space specificities in the rise of theories, it discusses the wider sociopolitical reasons that may account for the rise of Complexity Theory and its interest for planners today. The rise of the third sector in governance; the decentralisation of the nation state; the rise of informality; the exponential rise of information and knowledge in every sphere of human and non-human activity and the rise of new normative ideologies are argued to provide the social context for interest in Complexity Theory. Second, this article positions complexity theory within general social science theories and argues that complexity theory best suits the second order realm of social science theorisation. Third, this article positions complexity theory within planning theory and suggests that complexity theorists within planning might engage with the theory in three ways. These are by suggesting new ways of ordering of society and space by configuring or re-configuring planning systems in the first order; unravelling new opportunities for actors to work in society and space with largely selforganised entities and finally by searching for and discovering new dynamics for systems in the first order in society and space.

Transactions, Apr 1, 2008

This paper reports upon attitudes, initiatives and hurdles in the incorporation of prior learning... more This paper reports upon attitudes, initiatives and hurdles in the incorporation of prior learning in the discipline of planning within one higher education institution in Wales in the UK. Incorporation of prior learning in higher education (HE) is placed as a normative value within the context of increasing diversity in HE promoted through widening access policies, the internationalisation of education and the drive towards interdisciplinarity. It documents challenges that staff face at the delivery end of teaching, the ways in which they attempt to negotiate the difficulties they face, and the institutional resources that come/do not come into play to aid this process. By focusing on the delivery end, this systematic documentation brings together otherwise disparate knowledge, allowing for a fuller appreciation of HE provision in contemporary UK. These descriptions it is argued, can also help generalise and normalise ways in which diversity might be addressed through learning, teaching and assessment in higher education.

Planning Theory, Dec 10, 2020

International Planning Studies, Jun 17, 2019

This article engages with two published case studies describing participation in planning, a much... more This article engages with two published case studies describing participation in planning, a much-discussed aspect of spatial planning. After a brief review of the arguments advanced in the articles, the case studies are reinterpreted using the theory of social autopoiesis as advanced by Niklas Luhmann, in particular, one concept from the theory interaction systems. The re-analysis yields two results: it illustrates the added contribution that the theory can make to understand public participation in spatial planning, but also highlights particular issues in relation to participatory planning and its use in spatial planning.

Vikalpa, 2010

2005 was another important year, as the Gujarat Urban Renewal Mission was launched under the UDUH... more 2005 was another important year, as the Gujarat Urban Renewal Mission was launched under the UDUHD, headed by the Chief Minister, with the Minister of Urban Development as its Vice Chairperson, and 15 other members on the Board, including the Chief Secretary and the secretaries of the key government departments. The key objective of the mission was to mobilize resources through market for financing investments in infrastructure development. Municipalities and the Corporations are governed by the Gujarat Municipalities (Nagarpalika) Act, 1963 and the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations (BPMC) Act, 1949, respectively. They cover almost all the functions of the urban local bodies (ULBs) prescribed in the 'Twelfth Schedule,' Article 243 of the 74th Constitutional amendment. However, the Government of Gujarat made certain amendments in Sections 63 and 66 of the Acts in 1993 to meet the requirements of the Constitution amendment. Most of these amendments are not substantial in terms of assigned functions. The major amendment is related to added reservation of seats for women and backward classes. The amended Act also provides reservation for SC, ST, backward classes, and women for the office of the Mayor. A new section was added making provision for the "Constitution of Ward committees" in the cities with population of three lakhs or more. The urban population of Gujarat is quite substantial, at 26 per cent of the State's population in 1961, and growing to 38 per cent in 2001. This study is based on data from two major cities in Gujarat, namely, Surat and Junagarh. Surat Surat, located in Southern Gujarat, on the Arabian Sea coast, is Gujarat's second-largest city as well as an important commercial and industrial hub. It is one of India's fastest growing cities, with the population growing from 317,000 in 1961 to 2.8 million in 2001. Surat became a Municipal Corporation in 1964, and today, has the highest per capita revenue of all the 7 Municipal Corporations in the state, at Rs.1,901. Surat has a Citizens' Charter and has also received an award for the country's best grievance redressal system. However, the system is pre-structured in a way that complaints related to policy decisions remain outside its scope. Junagadh A city in the Saurashtra peninsula of Western Gujarat with a population of around 250,000, Junagadh is home to Gujarat's smallest and newest Municipal Corporation, established in 2004. The city of Junagadh has had a historically low rate of growth, rising from 74,000 in 1961 to 180,000 in 2001, and has the lowest per capita revenue in the state, at Rs.107. E-governance in Junagadh is more or less on paper and the complaint redressal system is at a rudimentary stage. Sanitation In terms of sanitation, Surat saw a great deal of action in the aftermath of the plague outbreak in the city during the early 1990s and the floods experienced in the mid-2000s. This led to the construction of water treatment plants, sewage treatment plants, bunds and embankments, and new systems for solid waste management. The private sector came to be involved in the day-today management, maintenance, and repair of the city's new sewage treatment plant as well as in solid waste collection. Micro-level plans were drawn up for each ward by the municipal authorities, with great attention to detail, even down to the design of footpaths and garbage bins. The number of sweepers was increased from 3,085 in 1994 to 4,886 in 2008, with an average of 50 sweepers per ward, private agencies being hired wherever there were shortfalls. Private contractors hired for collection, transportation, and disposal of solid waste, and special biomedical waste and hazardous waste treatment plants have been set up through collaboration between the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) and private corporations and associations. Public toilets were another problem area in the early-to mid-1990s, with only 20 per cent of the slum-dwellers in Surat having access to public toilets in 1991, and only 2 per cent with toilets in their own homes. This shortfall led to a huge health hazard due to defecation in the open. However, through collaboration with NGOs as well as public sector corporations such as HUDCO, by 2006, access to toilets among Surat's slum population was close to 97 per cent. Overall, Surat has seen a remarkable positive change in urban governance, and SMC has even received the Dubai International Award for Urban Governance in Environment and Public Health Management. However, SMC has been effective in monitoring biomedical waste and industrial effluent.

Planning Theory, Mar 17, 2016

Environment and Planning C-government and Policy, Jul 27, 2016

The 'Public interest', even if viewed with ambiguity or scepticism, has been one of the primary m... more The 'Public interest', even if viewed with ambiguity or scepticism, has been one of the primary means by which various professional roles of planners have been justified. Many objections to the concept have been advanced by writers in planning academia. Notwithstanding these, 'public interest' continues to be mobilised, to justify, defend or argue for planning interventions and reforms. This has led to arguments that planning will have to adopt and recognise some form of public interest in practice eto legitimise itself.. This paper explores current debates around public interest and social justice and advances a vision of the public interest informed by complexity theory. The empirical context of the paper is the poverty alleviation programme, the Kudumbashree project in Kerala, India.