TRANSFORMATIONS TO POST-GROWTH – POSITIONS, PERSPECTIVES, AND PROSPECTS FOR PEOPLE AND PLANET -(Hosted within track 1: Postgrowth Urbanism)

Organizers

Christian Lamker, University of Groningen
Astrid Krisch, University of Oxford
Lucas Barning, University of Vienna

Contributors

Christian Lamker, University of Groningen
Meike Levin-Keitel, University of Vienna
Eva Purkarthofer, Aalto University
Karin Bugow, Hochschule Darmstadt
Johannes Suitner, Vienna University of Technology
Luca Bertolini, University of Amsterdam
Thomas Hartmann, TU Dortmund University
Karl Krähmer, Politecnico di Torino 
Astrid Krisch, University of Oxford
Sophie Sturup, Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University

In the context of critical and looming change toward a post-growth society– one that aligns ecological imperatives with social equity – planning plays a pivotal role in shaping viable pathways forward. In recent years, postgrowth ideas have gained significant traction within planning discourse. However, this shift raises serious questions about the suitability of existing planning paradigms, their underlying logics, and their capacity to drive systemic change. Understanding their contextual relevance and legitimacy is essential in responding to the profound challenges of an increasingly complex and rapidly changing world.

This roundtable will engage with these discussions from three consecutive perspectives:

• A key tension in planning for sustainability and transformation lies between top-down governance and bottom-up participation, in particular moving beyond studying them in isolation. A major challenge for future research is to better connect insights from local experiments with broader policy implementation. This panel will explore the trade-offs, contradictions, and potential of hybrid governance models that bridge these perspectives, offering original pathways to move beyond growth dependencies.
• Current planning paradigms reach limits and systemic barriers, highlighted by post-growth and degrowth critiques. Many of these challenges arise at the intersection of planning’s deep-rooted growth orientation and the broader economic and societal frameworks that reinforce it. By interrogating these dynamics, we aim to uncover opportunities for rethinking planning approaches beyond conventional growth imperatives.
• Established roles and practices seem insufficient to meet contemporary societal and environmental challenges effectively. The panel will reflect on how post-growth planning approaches can enhance institutions, tools, instruments, and governance structures. This includes reimagining the role of planners in coordinating diverse and often conflicting demands while navigating the increasing complexity of policy landscapes and public expectations.

The roundtable invites panellists to share insights from their research and practice, examining the paradigms and theoretical foundations that shape their work. We encourage the audience to critically engage with the potential of spatial planning as a transformative force, reflecting on its capacity “to shift our thinking and adopt alternative approaches that prioritize people and the planet” (AESOP 2025, Call for Papers). Through this dialogue, we aim to explore the diverse approaches that position planning as a critical catalyst for systemic change in an era of planetary crisis. 

Key words: Post-growth planning, transformative agency, ontological and epistemological perspectives, experimentation, role of planners