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4 June 2014, Pakhuis de Zwijger, Amsterdam

Professor Yvonne Rydin spoke about her book The Future of Planning at a recent event in the Netherlands for the Master City Developer Great Books Series.

In front of an enthusiastic audience at Amsterdam’s Pakhuis de Zwijger cultural space, Yvonne presented The Future of Planning and led a discussion of the book’s relevance for Dutch practice. In her talk she examined the limitations of conventional approaches to planning of the last fifty years based on the presumed necessity of perpetual growth and development, and advocated a sustainable planning approach as a robust alternative. 

Drawing on the work of Julian Agyeman, Yvonne emphasised how the concepts of just sustainability and community-based planning can contribute to improved outcomes in circumstances where growth-oriented planning is unable to deliver the desired social, economic and environmental gains.   

While stressing that approaches centred primarily on growth have their place within the discipline and should not be discarded altogether, Yvonne argued that alternative methods are needed where growth-oriented planning has been shown to no longer be adequate. The sustainability of the built environment and the importance of community development which ensures equitable social gains for all groups within the community are key elements of this vision for the future of planning and need to be embedded in local and national planning policy.

Contending that the supposed benefits of endless growth cannot - and should not - be taken for granted, The Future of Planning comprises a fresh analysis of the limitations of the growth-dependence planning paradigm and a timely exploration of alternative urban development models. Filled with practical suggestions that establish a new planning agenda, The Future of Planning proposes new ways to protect and enhance existing low-value land uses as well as the means of managing community assets within the built environment.

MCD Great Books Series

The Great Books Series is an initiative of Master City Developer, an academic programme in urban area development jointly organised by Erasmus University Rotterdam, Technical University Delft and the Urban Development department of the City of Rotterdam. The Great Books Series showcases interesting, innovative books from the field of urban development and considers the lessons they contain for practitioners. Books previously featured in the series include Jan Gehl's Cities for People and Edward Glaeser's Triumph of the City.