Rationality and Power in Land Use Planning: A Conceptual View of the Relationship

The realities of power influences in rational decisions in planning became topical following Flyvbjerg’s work in 1998. Yet the characterization of the relationship has remained in Flyvbjerg’s basic notion of there being “stable power relations.” In this review, I argue that the nature of the relations may be stable outwardly, but inherently, it may appear more competitive, compromising, confined, or complementary; and that complementary relations between rationality and power are to be preferred. In an attempt to inform planning practice, I propose a conceptual framework for understanding the dynamic relationship between power and rationality and how it can contribute to theoretical development based on Hytonen’s “localization” approach