Understanding the nature of power relations has been integral to debates in planning theory and planning practice since the 1960s. Current theoretical approaches to planning and power have evolved to a state of pluralism which impacts upon how planning is conceived of and practiced. We seek to examine power relations and knowledge via a multidisciplinary case study of an energy-from-waste (EfW) development based in South Wales. Centred on a highly contested technology, incineration, this case study incorporates in-depth, longitudinal interview data with social network analysis to build up a picture of competing framings of environmental health risk. In local environmental debates, planners are expected to be able to help resolve competition between conflicting interests and yet, in reality, such conflicts often appear intractable and have long been dubbed wicked problems. This is especially the case for waste management. In our in-depth case study, significant pre-existing power relations existed between the local planning authority (LPA), which was also the lead co-developer in the EfW project, and the local community. In terms of methods, we have been keen to unearth data that allows us to explore the nature of institutional and networked power as it plays out within a community over time. It is our contention that too often the dynamics of power have been underplayed because it is studied as a snapshot rather than over time. Here we have utilised a variety of methods – from key person interviews to social network analysis – to examine the application for development, the operation of the EfW and the closure of the plant – over a ten year time frame. By drawing upon a rich database we can better understand the ways in which, in the case of particularly contentious developments, power relations greatly hampered efforts at public participation. Our nuanced methodological approach reveals empirical evidence for tensions in theoretical approaches to power relations in the planning arena and we can identify how debates can move forward based on a more geographically informed perspective.

中文翻译：

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规划系统中的网络、权力和知识：废物能源的案例研究

自 1960 年代以来，了解权力关系的性质一直是规划理论和规划实践辩论的组成部分。当前关于规划和权力的理论方法已经发展到多元化状态，这影响了规划的构想和实践方式。我们力求通过对位于南威尔士的废物能源 (EfW) 开发的多学科案例研究来检验权力关系和知识。本案例研究以一项极具争议的技术焚烧为中心，将深入的纵向访谈数据与社交网络分析相结合，以构建环境健康风险的竞争框架图。在当地的环境辩论中，人们期望规划者能够帮助解决利益冲突之间的竞争，但实际上，此类冲突往往看似棘手，长期以来被称为棘手问题。废物管理尤其如此。在我们深入的案例研究中，地方规划局 (LPA)（也是 EfW 项目的主要合作开发商）与当地社区之间存在显着的预先存在的权力关系。在方法方面，我们一直热衷于发掘数据，使我们能够探索制度和网络权力的性质，因为它随着时间的推移在社区内发挥作用。我们的论点是，权力的动态经常被低估，因为它是作为快照而不是随着时间的推移而研究的。在这里，我们使用了多种方法——从关键人物访谈到社交网络分析——来检查应用程序的开发，EfW 的运营和工厂的关闭——超过十年的时间框架。通过利用丰富的数据库，我们可以更好地理解在特别有争议的发展情况下，权力关系如何极大地阻碍了公众参与的努力。我们细致入微的方法论揭示了规划领域权力关系理论方法中存在紧张关系的经验证据，我们可以确定辩论如何基于更具有地理信息的视角向前推进。