Jin Xue

The urgency of the current polycrisis calls for a renewal of planning theory. We propose sufficiency planning as an approach, within earth system boundaries as its fundamental premiss to embrace the ecological, interpersonal, social, and individual realms of planning. The reframing of planning through sufficiency normativity builds on an ontological exploration informed by critical realism’s concept of four-planar social being. This approach explicates a philosophical interpretation of planning as a social act that interrelates with nature, social interactions, social structures and inter-subjectivity. In this paper, we lay out the main principles of sufficiency planning, its relevance to existing planning theories, and implications for planning practices.

Multi-scalar strategies, upscaling local degrowth initiatives, and rescaling are considered necessary for transforming towards degrowth. With burgeoning research on spatiality and scales in the degrowth literature, it becomes pertinent to reflect on the ontological foundations underlying the concept of scale and to strengthen some common ground for approaches to scales for the degrowth agenda. Being informed by the critical realist ontology, this paper aims to lay an ontological underpinning for degrowth scalar approaches, situated within the planning context. The argument starts with an ontological inquiry of ‘what is scale’. With an understanding of spatial scales as social structures, the argument moves to explicate ‘how does scale matter for degrowth initiatives’. This explication conceptualises five dimensions relevant to the degrowth agenda: scalarising degrowth values and norms, scalar mechanisms, scalar strategies, cross-scale impacts and rescaling. The conceptual framework is then further illustrated by exploring multi-scalar strategies for degrowth housing development and planning, partly contextualised by the case of Oslo City. Finally, the paper concludes with suggestions on ‘how can degrowth research and movements better integrate the question of scale’. Explanatory, critical, relational and holistic approaches are proposed as ways of taking spatial scales into account as an integral part of degrowth transformation.

In this introduction to the Special Issue titled Degrowth, Cities and Planning, we explore the urban dimension of a radical socio-ecological transformation inspired by the idea of degrowth, geared towards achieving humanity’s long-term wellbeing and sustainability. Although cities and urban planning should arguably play a central role in such a transition, the urban dimension of degrowth has remained largely unexplored. Bringing together the contributions to the Special Issue, we hope to strengthen degrowth by reflecting how its vision applies in urban contexts, and what insights and values from urban planning it might incorporate. At the same time, we explore the relevance of degrowth for urban planning itself, scrutinising urban development and planning from the degrowth perspective. Put simply, we work towards spatialising degrowth and degrowing urban planning.

This article explores the potential values of a critical realist theory of ideology on the analysis of planning issues. In particular, it argues its usefulness in promoting planning as a vanguard of societal transformation. The critical realist theory of ideology revitalizes the epistemological inquiry of beliefs, which enables an evaluation of the social, economic and environmental impacts of the ideas and beliefs embedded in planning. Furthermore, the essence of critical realist theory of ideology is to explain the (re)production of the ideology, which paves the way for transformative planning, as transformation cannot be realized without eliminating constraining social conditions. Finally, critical realism situates its critique of ideology within the wider transformation process by rendering visible the dimensions that can contribute to eradicating the ideology in question, and shaping better planning ideas, including ethical reasoning, utopia thinking and transformative agency. A meta-theoretical framework based on critical realism is proposed to guide a critique of ideology in planning. By using an example of planning for sustainable urban development in Copenhagen and Oslo, the paper demonstrates the ways in which the meta-theoretical framework can be applied to planning in a quest for societal transformation.

The paper aims at discussing the reciprocity of developing a dialogue between urban planning and degrowth by arguing for two interactive processes: ‘spatialising degrowth’ and ‘degrowing planning’. Degrowth literature has not yet fully recognised the potentiality of urban/urban regional spatial development and planning in facilitating and driving the degrowth transformation for local and regional sustainability and justice. The possibility of urban planning to facilitate a downscaling of the economy, save the environment and secure distributive justice is predicated on the causal relationships between space and societal conditions. Therefore, planning has the potentiality of providing spatial instruments in a degrowth transformation. On the other hand, the mainstream growth-oriented planning paradigm is facing internal and external imperatives for transformation. Degrowth values and principles provide inspiration for urban planning to rethink its role and function in urban and societal development, specifically on three fronts: ideology, substantive values and utopianism. The paper further discusses the dilemmas and advantages of planners, being situated in the complex political and institutional landscape, in taking proactive transformative practices.

In addition to a primary dwelling, having access to a non-primary dwelling for leisure activities is a mass phenomenon with a long tradition in Norway. This paper questions the Norwegian multi-dwelling lifestyle by critically discussing its climate implications. Based on a questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews with persons having access to non-primary dwellings, the paper analyzes the mobility pattern and housing consumption pattern of the multi-dwelling lifestyle. Two lifestyle groups are distinguished: traditional, and modern multi-dwelling lifestyles. A discussion of the climate implications of the two multi-dwelling lifestyles suggests that the traditional non-primary dwelling lifestyle is less climate harmful than the modern one. Furthermore, informed by the weak and strong sustainability perspectives, the paper suggests two climate policy pathways in order to raise and enrich the debates on climate-friendly development of the multi-dwelling lifestyle.

The aim of this study is to analyse and show how the growth ideology conditions the eco-metropolis plans, thus hindering the transformation towards urban sustainability. Despite an unprecedented enthusiasm of cities in pursuing a sustainability agenda, environmental degradation and social inequality of most cities have proved to be worse. The paper first argues that the failure in reversing the trajectory of unsustainability is attributed to a pursuit of urban sustainable development paradigm that is conditioned by the growth ideology. This argument is supported by contrasting the growth ideology with the counter-hegemonic degrowth ideology in terms of how well-being, environmental sustainability and equity are interpreted and approached. Furthermore, in order to provide an insight on how urban development plans are committed to and shaped by the growth ideology the case of Greater Copenhagen is analysed and scrutinised. Drawing on the emerging degrowth debates, the study emphasises the importance of engaging with the ideological reflection by practitioners and briefly discusses how planners can take an active role in advancing a degrowth society.

The Paris agreement on climate took effect on 4 November 2016. The agreement plans on holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. This paper compares an ecological modernisation (EM) development path with a degrowth development path, using urban and land-use planning impact on housing and transportation as cases. The two positions (EM and degrowth) agree on the need for a fundamental reduction in climate gases but disagree on which strategies should be pursued. EM transitions do not challenge the values associated with the capitalistic market economy and believe that policies, such as the right-price signals, should nudge producers and consumers in an environmentally benign direction. Conversely, degrowth rejects the EM belief in green growth, and holds that it will not be possible to decouple the economy from environmental loads to the necessary extent if the economy keeps growing. We conclude that we need a fundamental transformational change in society, i.e., a steering away from the growth ideology, and pursue policies that introduce maximum housing standards and limit mobility to succeed with the goals of the Paris agreement.