Landsbygd i översiktsplanering
Urbanization and urban planning have increasingly taken the fokus from the countryside to urban centers and have left rural areas in the shadows of the debate. This has ultimately led to polarizing between cities and rural areas. The goal of this thesis is to investigate how power relations between...
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| Formato: | Second cycle, A2E |
| Lenguaje: | sueco sueco |
| Publicado: |
2016
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/9821/ |
| Sumario: | Urbanization and urban planning have increasingly taken the fokus from the countryside to urban centers and have left rural areas in the shadows of the debate. This has ultimately led to polarizing between cities and rural areas. The goal of this thesis is to investigate how power relations between urban and rural is deeply embedded in the discourse of comprehensive planning by focusing on how rural environments are portrayed throughout this plan. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to expose the discourses that contribute to representation of the countryside in comprehensive planning and to display both the reasons for, and consequences of, this portrayal. The theoretical and methodological framework for this thesis are based on discourse analysis theories that are capable of explaining the embedded relation between power and language. This is then used in combination with a relational reading of space as something that both reconstructs and reshapes over time through language and representations based on current discourses, politics and norms. The material for this research is a case study based on a comprehensive plan from the municipality of Svedala. A qualitative analysis has been chosen for the methodology which fits suitably with the discourse analysis perspective by allowing for a deeper analysis of the material, which is examined with an open approach. The material is then deconstructed and applied in a new context based on that which is most vital for the countrysides portrayal. The results confirm that representation of the countryside is based on a romantic ideal of rural environments rather than that of the actual lived landscape. Furthermore, the analysis reveals that comprehensive planning is heavily focused on increasing the branding of urban areas rather than focusing on the rural areas and those who live there. Public health and living conditions are two specific examples of where the requirements are based strictly upon the perspectives of those living in urban environments. Politically speaking, decisions are generally based on guidelines that favor large populations, thus making demands from the countryside is nearly invisible from the political process. These setbacks from a rural perspective show a lack of commitment to ecological and social stability. Moreover, it displays that comprehensive planning deserves more community discourse than it currently receives so that all voices are heard more equally. As a result of the analysis, this paper suggests alternative methods in portraying the country side in comprehensive planning, based on ambitions of portraying urban and rural environments in a more uniform matter. An argument is then made that comprehensive plans should be expanded so that they contain a wider range of development issues so that rural areas can share a larger role. Public health issues are also examined from a rural perspective and suggestions are made for how they can achieve a more central focus in planning. Finally, this paper explores the complexity of comprehensive plans and suggests a more all-encompassing view on them, as something that not only reflects current politics and norms, but also has potential to alter the actual, lived landscape. |
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