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Abstract
A major problem confronting planning is the gap between transformative proposals and enduring urban development trends. The paper interprets interviews with 62 planners involved in a sustainable urban development strategy in a large region focussed on Toronto, Canada. Surveyed planners were asked about the obstacles they encounter when attempting to modify prevailing urban development. Mentioned obstacles are consistent with expectations arising from three major perspectives on inertia: institutionalism, political economy and path dependence. Interviews also highlight the role of planners' practical knowledge in identifying and interpreting obstacles, and the existence of a consensus among respondents over sustainable urban development.
Acknowledgements
Researchers acknowledge financial support from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (standard research grant 39878). They are of course solely responsible for the content of this paper.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1. There is obvious overlapping between these three categories. For example, preferences of the public, which is the object of the third category, is a factor in lagging government support for proposed urban transitions (first category) and the entrenchment of urban form and transportation patterns (second category). The three categories thus reflect different angles, found in the interviews, of broadly similar phenomena.
2. Respondents are categorized according to the part of the GGH in which they work: Toronto (TO), outer suburbs (OS), self-standing urban areas (SS) and the outer parts of the GGH (OP). A number was randomly assigned to all interviewees within each category.