The character of the Just City: The regulation of place distinctiveness and its unjust social effects

Gethin Davison*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The concept of a 'character' has gained considerable currency in city planning and design, with the impacts of proposed property developments on the character of established urban places now a common consideration in planning decision making. Drawing on the methods of critical discourse analysis, this paper problematises this trend through a case study of Melbourne, Australia. Three critiques of current approaches to the regulation of character in Melbourne are identified: An overemphasis on physical form and disregard for the perceptual and experiential dimensions of place, a failure to acknowledge insider perspectives on character, and the effects of character-based regulations in justifying inequitable and exclusionary planning outcomes. The difficulties associated with the use of character as a planning assessment criterion are then discussed. The paper concludes by arguing for approaches to the regulation of place distinctiveness that attend more fully to the social and experiential aspects of place.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)305-325
Number of pages21
JournalTown Planning Review
Volume88
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2017

Keywords

  • character
  • critical discourse analysis
  • just city
  • place
  • urban design
  • urban planning

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Geography, Planning and Development
  • Urban Studies

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