Conceptual Freedom in Planning Education and Students’ Methodological Learning

Figures & data

Table 1. Features of the student group projects

Group	Thematic focus	Empirical work	Outcome/result	Normative/practice conclusions on …
G1	Changes for the local inhabitants through the HSR station and new residential area	field questionnaire (quantitative)	Views of impacts on the daily life of locals	… the local community life between ‘old’ and ‘new’ residents
G2	Changes for local public finances through the new residential area	infrastructural cost-benefit analysis; alternative scenario building; GIS (quantitative)	Financial burden for the municipality according to housing types	… infrastructure costs related to housing types.
G3	Actors and interests behind establishing the HSR station	Stakeholder analysis (qualitative)	Review of power relations and decision-making processes	… the design of complex strategic planning processes
G4	‘Nature’ in the new residents’ quality of living perception	semi-narrative interviews (qualitative)	Nature as socio-cultural construct with individual/subjective meaning	… planning for pluralistic meanings of nature/rurality
G5	The HSR station as new ‘social place’ in the region	non-participatory observation; short interviews (qualitative)	Document and interpret social interactions at the HSR station area	… improvements of the viability of the HSR station through design and services
G6	The HSR station as trigger for densifying efforts in land use policy	document analysis, semi-structured stakeholder interviews (qualitative)	municipal viewpoints on local development and regional cooperation opportunities	… starting an inter-municipal strategic planning process
G7	strategic development of the region under sustainability primacies	on-site visits; mapping; SWOT analysis (qualitative)	basis for a normative strategic vision ‘Tullnerfeld 2030’ around the HSR station	… prioritizing ecological over social over economic sustainability

Source: own elaboration

Note: groups are listed randomly

Table 2. Abstract positioning of conceptual orientation of the seven student group projects

Structuring principle	Field of operation
	Territory	Place	Scale	Network
Territory		G4
Place	G3	G2	G7	G6
Scale		G1
Network		G5

Source: own elaboration, modified after Jessop et al. (2008)

Note: Conceptual features of the 7 group projects G1-G7 are documented in Table 1.

Jessop, B., Brenner, N., & Jones, M. (2008) Theorizing sociospatial relations, Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 26(3), pp. 389–401. doi:https://doi.org/10.1068/d9107.

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