Recent Debates about Planning in the Critical Literature Relating to Postcolonial Urbanism
Introduction
Postcolonial urbanism is a subfield of urban studies that focuses on postcoloniality and postcolonial theory as a historical and political circumstance, and postcolonial critiques of the urban theory. There is no universally applicable definition of postcolonialism. In this regard, Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin (2006) provide a simple definition of postcolonialism as the examination of the long-term consequences of being a former colony and the restrictions to a historical concept that has been largely supplanted by contending voices. Rather than a conceptual uniformity, postcolonial urbanism may be understood as an intervention (Batty, 2018), both in terms of the places and subjects it addresses and in terms of how urban research and theory are developed. Additionally, postcolonial urbanism accepts the academic critiques advanced by postcolonial theory in the seminal work on knowledge construction in urban studies. The aim of this paper is to present a critical discission of the contemporary perspectives on planning in the critical literature relating to postcolonial urbanism.
Postcolonial Urbanism
Postcolonial urbanism presents a complete view of postcolonial cities’ cultures, people, and politics, combining scholarly ideas with first-hand observations to provide a comprehensive image of postcolonial cities. Hall and Tewdwr-Jones (2019) presents postcolonial urbanism as a philosophical project that seeks to provide forums for the exchange of ideas on theoretical and political issues, rather than as a phenomenon that can be traced to a specific geographical area. In a critical review of postcolonial urbanism literature, LeGates and Stout (2011) observed that recent research presents that cities all over the world are essentially extensions of the Euro-American paradigm and exemplifies the clarity as well as the narrowness of this approach in both form and content. Cities in postcolonial contexts are experimenting with new forms of urbanism that are not reducible only to Western urbanism (Grubbauer, 2019). In spite of the fact that they have been severely colonized in the past, the vast majority of cities in Southeast Asia, Africa, and other regions of the world have been largely disregarded in discussions about postcolonial theory and global urbanization in general.
Postcolonial urbanism, in the realm of planning, has evolved overtime to become an independent body that has steered clear of the pre-colonial and colonial eras in urbanism and urban planning. In recent years, critical planning literature has begun to question urban theory’s narrow focus (Townsend, 2013), its status as a theory (Datta, 2018), and the use of comparative methodologies (Datta, 2019), which may broaden the scope of theoretical achievements. The discipline of area studies, on the other hand, has a large body of work that continues to dive into the question of alternative urbanisms (Harris, 2012), recognizing the postcolonial world as an extra category of shared experience that may contribute to the construction of a number of different urbanisms (Roy, 2009). It is necessary to consider if postcolonial urbanism is a theoretical intervention in the formation of urban theory or a direct intervention in the locations and concerns of urban theory. According to research by Watson (2009), these occupations are difficult to come by in the postcolonial urban planning culture. Grey spaces, informality, utopia, and waste are just a few of the terms that have evolved as key conceptual tools when it comes to urban everyday life. Therefore, postcolonial urbanism has drifted away from pre- and colonial urbanism.
Recent Debates on Planning in Postcolonial Urbanism
Contemporary urbanism and associated topics are marked by a plethora of actively engaging arguments, with variant views on how they relate to the pre- and colonial period planning and urbanism. The modern era of human history may be regarded as both a global and an urban age, a description that looks at the good and the bad. Arabindoo (2011) differentiates the postcolonial urban era from past periods by observing that people, economic activity, and money are increasingly concentrated in urban areas as a result of the urbanization trend. At this point in human history, Varley (2013) asserts that the majority of cities provide a higher standard of life to a greater number of people than at any previous time in history. According to the findings of Datta (2018), urban poor are on average better off than rural poor across the world. Cities serve as epicenters of scientific, cultural, and social growth (Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin, 2006), as well as economic and political development (LeGates and Stout, 2011), ushering in a new era of urban theory, thought, and implementation. In addition, cities have sprung up all over the world, becoming increasingly intertwined with one another. Harris (2012) notes that the interdependence of urbanism and the theories around the same should not be ignored. The contemporary period is characterized by an ever-increasingly interconnected global network of cities (Datta, 2019), as well as an unprecedented growth in urbanization rates (Roy, 2011). Yet, the postcolonial period is also characterized by some issues borrowed from past eras. For instance, looking at the unequal access to housing, the destruction of ancient industrial cities, high concentration of poverty-filled urban centers, slum conditions, ethnic unrest, environmental concerns, homelessness and social isolation, increase in violent crimes, gentrification, and among a host of other issues, the present postcolonial era has gotten worse in terms of factors contributing to urbanism (Varley, 2013). Due to the foregoing and other issues outside of the scope if this critique, a rise in academic and policy-related study on cities has occurred (Grubbauer, 2019), as has the resuscitation of debates concerning the substance and theoretical direction of urban studies and postcolonial urbanism.
Postcolonial urbanism is a contentious issue as far as theory, design, learning, and implementation are concerned. Upon closer analysis of academic literature, conference papers, and educational programs, Arabindoo (2011) asserts that it becomes clear that postcolonial urbanism’s theoretical foundations are occasionally at contrast with professional architectural and design practice. Many of the most well-known Western architects and designers who operate in cities have been called out for their actions by urban studies scholars in recent years (Harris, 2012). Urban researchers have also given little attention to the evolution of the philosophical foundations of architecture and urban design (Datta, 2019), despite the fact that these changes are occurring all the time (Batty, 2018). Few publications bring together prominent scholars and practitioners to engage in a full and systematic exchange of ideas when it comes to discussions on the postcolonial urbanism (Grubbauer, 2019), and global urbanism.
Urban practitioners, specialists, and scholars are unified as a result of a rise in informal and self-organized postcolonial urbanism in urban dwellings and cities. While there is no comprehensive body of knowledge on postcolonial urbanism and architecture (Streule et al., 2020), three recurrent themes may be identified including education, subalternity, and informality. To begin, Dovey, Cook, and Achmadi (2019) contend that there is a shared interest in knowing the megacity’s subaltern space and class that transcends catastrophic and dystopian megacity narratives. Slums, in particular, are regarded by Streule et al. (2020) as a type of housing, a source of revenue, and a political environment. Similarly, various initiatives and articles by architects, designers, and planners are driven by the stated purpose of providing a voice and exposure for slum people (Arabindoo, 2011). Such narratives exhibit the diversity in thought regarding postcolonial urbanism.
The second concern shared by postcolonial urban researchers and practitioners is a re-reading of urban informality that is said to transcend the formal-informal dichotomy (Harris, 2012). Scholars examine numerous informal modes of livelihood production and tenure arrangements. Arabindoo (2011) focuses on ascertaining the transformational potential beyond survival and need of postcolonial urban centers. For architects and urban designers, rethinking the formal and informal divide is also a major concern (Roy, 2011). Instead of being viewed as an issue, informal urbanism is viewed as a vessel of creativity. Here, different perspectives highlight postcolonial urbanism in the informality of planning.
The third recurring theme in postcolonial discourses in the fields of urban studies, design, and planning is education. The idea, according to Streule et al. (2020), is that studying urbanization processes outside of developmentalist frameworks teaches valuable insights about cities and urbanism. Naturally, Dovey, Cook, and Achmadi (2019) found that these concepts have sparked heated arguments over the nature and scope of urban theory, as well as the validity of some of its underlying assumptions. On a more practical level, for many design and planning scholars and practitioners, learning from informal urbanism’s bottom-up methodologies is turning out a mission statement (Harris, 2012). Thus, there is an inclusion of the proclamation of a new planning and design culture founded on grassroots efforts related to postcolonial urbanism.
Conclusion
To sum up, postcolonial urbanism translates the notions and problems for urban theory, space, and urban research from twentieth-century and preceding postcolonial philosophy. These elements came from an era of decolonial and anticolonial political struggle and was mainly determined by significant humanities studies. From the above discussion, the analysis of representation, identity, and power modifies the geographical study of urban expansion, urban life, and urbanization, factors that are especially visible in postcolonial urban planning and architecture studies, which place the built environment in a postcolonial setting or assess planning and architectural cultures through a postcolonial lens. Flowing from this critical analysis, it is clear that there is a discord between theorists and scholars in relation to postcolonial urbanism and related concepts in planning. Therefore, future research should focus on creating harmony of perspectives and unifying schools of thoughts under one roof.
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