Reframing practices that shape place futures
In her doctoral thesis, Rebecca Staats explores how different actors – from planners to local communities – shape the future of places. By using the concept of care as an analytical framework, she shows that the care concept can generate new ways of thinking about place planning across disciplinary fields and in collaboration with everyday citizens.
Who shapes the future of places – and how? And what can the care concept contribute to thinking about these issues? This is the central question in Rebecca Staats’ doctoral thesis in Conservation at the University of Gothenburg. Her research examines what the care concept, when applied as an analytical tool, can contribute to our understanding of how professionals, institutions and civil society shape place futures, and how care can be a way to bridge silos of profession-specific knowledge and practice.
Different values, goals and practices shapes places
Various professional fields are involved in shaping places: this includes placemaking, place branding, and heritage practices. Each of these spheres brings different knowledges, norms of practice and goals. Civil society actors also shape the future of places through participation in place planning and everyday activities.
“Differences in language, priorities and professional expertise create challenges for connected and holistic approaches,” says Rebecca Staats. “By using the concept of care as a framework we can analyse the actors and practices, their motivations and relations, that shape place futures.”
Case studies in Sweden and the UK
The analytical framework was applied in two case studies – Uddebo in Sweden and Northumberland National Park in the United Kingdom.
”In Uddebo, the local community had many different ideas of what the place could be, while the regional planners tried to facilitate a more consensus based vision,” says Rebecca Staats. “By using care as an analytical concept, we can better understand and bridge these differences.”
New ways of thinking about the future of places
The care concept directs our analytical attention in new ways to examine the values and relationships underpinning place planning practices that might otherwise remain implicit. Rebecca Staats’ research shows that the care framework not only complements existing planning paradigms but can also integrate them through reframing both professional and everyday practices as practices of care.
“By using the care concept as an analytical framework, you have the foundation for a tool that practitioners can use when planning the future of places,” says Rebecca Staats. “By reflecting on the values behind action and the relationships between different actors and their environment, we can work towards more sustainable and inclusive approaches to planning places,” says Rebecca Staats.
Title: Why care? Reframing Practices that Shape Place Futures
Contact: Rebecca Staats, PhD Student at the Department of Conservation at the University of Gothenburg, phone: +46(0)793-20 75 39, e-mail: rebeccastaats93@gmail.com
The PhD thesis was defended at a public defence on 7 November.
