What’s the future for planning in a time of democratic retreat, white supremacy and silence

ABSTRACT

It has been argued that we are witnessing an ‘antidemocratic turn’ in history, with an increase in ideologies of white supremacy and a disregard for the fundamental principles of democracy. Antidemocratic attacks are often directed, through hate and threats, towards politicians, researchers, and non-governmental organisations that engage in democratic aspects of societal development, such as critical and spatial investigations of racial discrimination, gender inequalities and human rights. The above is troubling news for a profession that often sees itself as a facilitator of democratic futures. This article shows how growing self-censorship is having real implications for planning. It is stated that the planning profession must ask itself what futures, and for whom, it is contributing to. It is argued that, as planners, we need to acknowledge that antidemocratic attacks from white supremacists stem from a colonial relationship which continues to produce violence, as well as deep inequalities around the world. It is furthermore argued that if the planning profession wants to contribute to democratic futures, it urgently needs to scrutinize how its own practices are imbued with racial capitalism. If not, the future of critical planning theory and practice comes into question.

KEYWORDS:

• colonialism
• critique
• democracy
• future
• planning
• silence
• white supremacy

Acknowledgement

The author is grateful to the handling editors of European Planning Studies, and the anonymous referees for constructive comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Centre for Sustainable Urban Futures, through the seed project ‘Decolonial perspectives on the city and the university’.