ABSTRACT

The article explores the extent to which the pressure to upscale grassroot planning initiatives can lead to the loss of their innovative potential. We advocate for the need to acknowledge the differentiated demands between community-involving pilot initiatives and grassroots initiatives when it comes to upscaling and argue that upscaling grassroots initiatives without loss of innovation takes more than just considering large-scale implementation right at the beginning of the initiative. Grounding our research on a grassroot artists and community initiative to transform a public space into an ‘Anthropocene Forest’ in Amsterdam, we show how current practices for scaling up grassroot initiatives are often more concerned with making grassroot actors and practices fit into existing planning institutions and practices, and less concerned with learning and reforming existing institutional practices. We contend that this currently dominant institutional approach to scaling up leads to a double loss: a loss of innovative characteristics of the grassroots initiatives themselves; and a loss of opportunities to imbue existing planning practices and institutions with new ideas and know-hows. The article explores potential ways out of this conundrum.

摘要

本文探讨了升级基层规划举措的压力在多大程度上会导致其创新潜力的丧失。我们主张在升级时需要承认涉及社区的试点计划和基层计划之间的差异化需求，并认为在不失去创新的情况下升级基层计划不仅仅需要在计划开始时就考虑大规模实施. 以我们在阿姆斯特丹将公共空间转变为“人类世森林”的草根艺术家和社区倡议为研究基础，我们展示了当前扩大草根倡议的实践如何通常更关注使草根行动者和实践融入现有的规划机构和做法，而不太关心学习和改革现有的制度实践。我们认为，这种目前占主导地位的扩大规模的制度方法导致了双重损失：基层倡议本身的创新特征的丧失；并且失去了将新想法和专业知识灌输给现有规划实践和机构的机会。这篇文章探讨了解决这个难题的潜在方法。