Numerous novel planning concepts have been developed in pursuit of better urban environments, while many are notoriously difficult to define. Lacan’s master signifier is widely employed to criticise these vague, fashionable concepts but lacks a specific examination tool. To fill this gap, this article develops an analytical framework based on Lacanian discourse analysis (LDA) to decipher the complex social relations in the process of applying new concepts to planning policymaking and practice. A comprehensive review of the UK urban village movement is used to demonstrate how this framework provides a deeper analysis, arguing that urban villages are understood differently depending on individual social positions, which, to some extent, determine their actions towards planning practice.

为了追求更好的城市环境，已经开发了许多新颖的规划概念，但众所周知，许多概念难以定义。拉康的主要能指被广泛用于批评这些模糊的、时髦的概念，但缺乏具体的检验工具。为了填补这一空白，本文开发了一个基于拉康话语分析 (LDA) 的分析框架，以解读将新概念应用于规划决策和实践过程中的复杂社会关系。对英国城中村运动的全面回顾被用来展示该框架如何提供更深入的分析，认为城中村的理解取决于个人社会地位，这在某种程度上决定了他们对规划实践的行动。