Thinking through non-representational and affective atmospheres in planning theory and practice

Buser, Michael

Abstract

This article engages with recent debates surrounding non-representational theory and the affective turn in the social sciences, arguing that such thinking offers a particularly useful set of concepts for the discipline of planning. This includes a widened notion of agency to the inclusion of more-than-human bodies (i.e. material agency) and a focus on daily practice and the embodied experience of place. Calling upon the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze, the author puts forward affective atmospheres as a post-humanist way of studying socio-spatial processes associated with place identity and the spatial imaginaries that animate planning activity. Recognising the co-constitutive nature of research and social worlds, the article offers a performative methodology that situates researchers directly within the material and discursive environments they seek to investigate. © The Author(s) 2013.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 19, 2014
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2014
• Journal: Planning Theory
• Print ISSN: 1473-0952
• Electronic ISSN: 1741-3052
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 227-243
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1473095213491744
• Keywords: planning theory and practice, Deleuze
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/813931
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1473095213491744