With apologies for cross-postings.
FINAL CALL FOR PAPERS
Paper session: Valuing Place: Environmental Policy Formation and Enactment
Session sponsored by the Planning and Environment Research Group (PERG) for the
annual conference of the Royal Geography Society - Institute of British
Geographers, 26-28 August 2009 (http://www.rgs.org), Manchester, UK
Session Convenors:
Lucy Cartlidge, University of Sheffield, UK
Guillaumette Haughton, University of Sheffield, UK
Policy practitioners have often focussed on one-step, site-based solutions to
address issues of sustainability and environmental concerns. These have often
relied heavily upon a technical appraisal of place without recognising or
utilising other knowledges and frames of understanding already in existence
which are often neglected or overlooked. Recent studies have focussed on
multiplicities of experience, value and meaning but within research on
sustainability this is still an emerging theme. By conducting research which
seeks to engage with a range of ways of knowing a place, new forms of
geographical explanation are produced.
We are interested in how the ‘knowledge of a place’ is ascribed value and is
regarded as authoritative or not, as well as how places are valued and whether
or not this is given a voice in environmental policy formation and enactment.
Exploring ways of valuing knowledge and placing values can enable new
understandings of how this knowledge can be utilised in practice and lead to a
deeper understanding of place. The session seeks to explore both formal
processes of developing environmental policy and other ways in which
sustainability targets are conceived and put into practice, referring to
‘policy’ in the broadest sense of the word.
This session aims to bring together researchers from geography, planning, urban
studies and other social sciences who are seeking to understand how place is
valued by a range of stakeholders such as policy-makers, developers, planners,
residents, community groups, urban designers, architects, and civil engineers
amongst others and how these differing perceptions and values of one place
effect the formation of environmental policy relating to that place and the
eventual enactment of such policies.
There will be opportunities to explore theoretical approaches to this subject
area, to share practical experiences of conducting research with a range of
stakeholders and to consider methods for interpreting data that maintain the
integrity of the interviewees’ frame of knowledge. Contributions are welcome
from all researchers looking at issues of knowledge, place and values at the
local or neighbourhood scale in a wide variety of contexts including river
management, housing development, travel and transport. However we would
particularly like to encourage postgraduate, early career researchers and
researcher-practitioners to submit papers.
Please forward abstracts of 200 words to the organisers by Friday 6th February
2009.
Expressions of interest can be made by contacting the organisers at the
following email addresses:
Lucy Cartlidge: [log in to unmask]
Guillaumette Haughton: [log in to unmask]
--
Lucy Cartlidge
PhD Student, Dept. of Town & Regional Planning,
University of Sheffield,
Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN
Tel: (0114) 2226915
Web: http://www.shef.ac.uk/trp/researchschool/currentresearch/lucycartlidge
Email: [log in to unmask]
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