Stretching Beyond the Horizon: A Multiplanar Theory of Spatial Planning and Governance

Jean Hillier develops a new theory for students and researchers of spatial planning and governance which is grounded primarily in the work of Gilles Deleuze and which recognises the complex interrelation between place qualities and the multiple space-time relational dynamics of spatial governance. She identifies the power of networks and trajectories through which various actors territorialise space using empirical examples from England and Australia and explores the social and political responsibilities of spatial managers and decision-makers in a world in which places are parts of complex space- and power-geometries. She suggests alternative framings for spatial practice: broad trajectories or 'visions' of the longer-term future and shorter-term, location-specific detailed plans and projects with collaboratively determined tangible goals. Hillier explores what spatial planning and urban management practices could look like if they were to become along Deleuzean lines. To think becoming will be an important project for the future, for theorists and practitioners of spatial planning and governance. It will be a project for those who want to do something with respect to those uncertain forces which we don't quite yet grasp. As Deleuze wrote, the horizon is 'continuously moving'. The task is to stretch beyond it.