FUNDAMENTAL? OR BEST FORGOTTEN? CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES ON THE PUBLIC INTEREST

Organizers

Christopher Maidment, University of Reading
Michael Lennon, University College Dublin

Contributors

Angelique Chettiparamb, University of Reading
Stefano Moroni, Politecnico di Milano
Hanna Matilla, University of Turku
Ben Clifford, University College London

The concept of the public interest has long been bound up in debates about the purpose of, and justification for, planning activities. Yet, writing at the beginning of the 21st Century, Campbell and Marshall (2000) highlight that:

“What constitutes the public interest has always been contentious but its value as a legitimising concept has been increasingly called into question in the recent past. It is a term which has often been used to mystify rather than clarify...it is frequently used as a device to cast an aura of legitimacy over the final resolution of policy questions where there are still significant areas of disagreement.” 

(Campbell and Marshall, 2000, p.308)

The concept is simultaneously a carrier of many meanings and of no meaning; its inherent lack of content beyond the vague notion of serving the public leaves it open to being appropriated for less than normative purposes and, despite a lineage debating back to Aristotle, its practical application remains contested. On the other hand, it remains a justification for action that the discipline of planning clings onto; without a remit to serve the public what reason is there for spatial planning to exist?

Using the theory and practice of spatial planning as a basis, the aim of this roundtable is to present a range of contemporary perspectives, some optimistic, some less optimistic, about the relevance of the concept as we move further into the 21st Century. Each contributor will be asked to respond to the following questions:

• Does/should the public interest remain a relevant as a conceptual basis for spatial planning?
• How should the public interest be theorised or conceptualised?
• Is the public interest a relevant concept for practitioners?
• To what extent is a consensus needed around around who or what constitutes the public?

Some contributions will focus on the relevance of the concept in practice, whilst others will explore how the theorisation of the public interest has evolved. Specifically, we want to draw out the contrasts and dissensus between viewpoints and generate debate about whether the public interest remains an important foundation for planning theory and practice. 

Reference

Campbell H. and Marshall R. (2000) Moral Obligations, Planning and the Public Interest: A Commentary on Current British Practice. Environment and Planning B. 27 (2), p.297-312.

Key words: Public Interest, Planning Theory, Planning Practice, Legitimacy