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Perspectives on Scale in Participatory Spatial Planning

This article examines the role of scale in participatory spatial planning, in response to arguments about the inclusivity of different scales of urban governance, and offers a case study from the UK. The article draws on participatory spatial planning literature, where scale is understood to be bound up with institutional and communicative power. Existing literature on public involvement in planning has given insights into the ways that scale relates to conflicting rationalities of public involvement and empowerment. Those works also suggest that for participatory planning, understandings of scale are constructed around notions of ‘shared interests’. Using empirical data from formal public participation in sub-regional strategy-making England, the article unpacks understandings of scale and how they are constructed within the context and content of the case. Findings suggest that scales of shared interests and scales of desired action did not align, but participants could challenge or reify scales of authority in their demands for spatial justice.