Föreläsning: Knowledge and Ignorance in Planning for a Post-Growth Future

Post-growth thinking has had a recent impetus from both evidence of the immensity of the ecological crisis that we face and the prospects of declining or stagnant economic growth locally. While the outlines of what a post-growth future at the local scale might look like are emerging, it is much less clear what the role of the planner will be. In particular, given that planning can be considered "knowledge in action" (following Friedmann), what kinds of knowledge or ways of knowing are implied by working towards a post-growth future? This lecture explores this question considering typologies of knowledge and the practices of knowing adopted by planners. It argues that knowing has to be seen in the context of non-knowing also and that a more strategic approach is needed, rather than aiming for comprehensive synthesis of diverse knowledges. This challenges the Enlightenment roots of the planning profession but suggests an alternative that could build political support for a future less dependent on the pursuit of growth.

Yvonne Rydin is Professor of Planning, Environment and Public Policy in the Bartlett School of Planning, UCL. She specialises in understanding governance for sustainability. Her most recent book is Planning without Growth, published by Policy Press in 2025. Her co-edited collecting New Planning Histories is also published in 2025 by Palgrave. Other recent books include Theory in Planning Research (Palgrave) and the co-edited volume Regulation and Planning: practice, institutions, materiality (Routledge).