Contested landscapes: Conflicts of interests and controversies in planning and using space

Mara Balestrieri

Mara Balestrieri Università degli Studi di Sassari, Dipartimento di Agraria, Sezione Ingegneria del Territorio, Sassari, Italy

Keywords: conflict; revenue; collective interest; Tuvixeddu; coastal territory of Sardinia

Abstract

This paper sets out to explore the relationship between planning and conflict in the use of space, and to reflect on the ideas underpinning transformations of the territory, beginning with the relations existing between projects and policies, since planning decisions are a statement of something more than just organizational projects for space. In an urban realm where the market increasingly swallows up space, contributing to shaping form and functions according to a profit-based logic, battles are sometimes waged to defend public goods. The paper deals with the case of two areas at the center of controversies and disputes related to divergent interests, which spring from totally different points of view on space and the role of the assets shaping the landscape. The contrast is illustrated between the logics of a market based on the pursuit of economic gain to the detriment of social construction, and the right to a collective heritage, with the aim of asserting the need and possibility to go beyond the logics of individualism in planning.

References

Đokić, V., Radivojević, A., Roter-Blagojević, M. (2008) Promotion of the cultural heritage of Mediterranean city in the scope of upgrading cultural tourism, Spatium International Review, No. 17-18, pp. 84-91.

Featherstone, M., Lash, S. (eds.) (1999) Spaces of Culture: City, Nation World. London: Sage.

Forester, J. (1989) Planning in the Face of Power. Berkeley, Ca: University of California Press.

Foucault, M. (1994) Dits et éctris: 1954–1975. Paris: Gallimar.

Friedman, J. (1987) Planning in the Public Domain. NJ: Princeton University Press.

Graham, S., Marvin, S. (1996) Telecommunications and the City: Electronic Spaces, Urban Places. London: Routledge.

Gregory, D., Urry, J. (eds.) (1985) Social Relations and Spatial Structures. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Harvey, D. (2000) Spaces of Hope. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Lai, L.W.C., Wong, K.S.K., Chau, K.W. (2011) Are engineering reasons zoning neutral?, Planning and Design, No. 38 (2), pp. 322-337.

Le Galès, P. (2002) European cities. Social conflicts and governance. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Lees, L., Slater, T., Wyley, E. (2008) Gentrification. London, Routledge.

Lefebvre, H. (1991) The production of space. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.

Maciocco, G. (2008) Fundamental Trends in City Development. Verlag, New York: Springer.

Madanipour, A. (1999) Why are the design and development of public spaces significant for cities?, Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, No. 26(6), pp. 879-891.

Morrissey, M., Gaffikin, F. (2006) Planning for Peace in Contested Space: Inclusion through Engagement and Sanction, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, No. 30(4), pp. 873-893.

Nedučin D., Carić, O., Kubet V. (2009), Influences of gentrification on identity shift of an urban fragment: A case study, Spatium International Review, No. 21, pp. 66-75.

Neuman, M. (2005) Notes on the Uses and Scope of City, Planning Theory, No. 4(2), pp. 123-145.

Peterson M.N., Liu J. (2008) Property rights and landscape planning in the intermountain west: The Teton Valley case, Landscape and Urban Planning, No. 86(2), pp. 126-133.

Pine, B.J., Gilmore, J.H. (1999) The experience economy. Boston: Harvard University Press.

Salzano, E. (2011) Dualismo urbano. Città dei cittadini o città della rendita, QT2 Quaderni del territorio, No.2, pp. 143-153.

Sandercock, L. (1998) Towards Cosmopolis: Planning for Multi-cultural Cities. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Sorensen, T. (2003) The Nature of Planning: Economy Versus Society?, Town Planning Review No. 74(2), pp. iii-vii.

Tajbakhsh, K. (2001) The Promise of the City: Space, Identity, and Politics in Contemporary Social Thought. Berkeley, Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Tocci, W. (2009) L’insostenibile ascesa della rendita urbana, Democrazia e Diritto, No. 1, pp. 17-50.

Urbani, P. (2007) Territorio e poteri emergenti. Torino: Giappichelli.

Zukin, S. (1995) The cultures of Cities. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers