From the ‘Scientized’ to the ‘Sociocratic’ City:The Politics of Knowledge and Norm Change in Post War Urban Planning in the Netherlands

This chapter presents a novel approach to the politics of knowledge in the post-war planning of Dutch cities. It explains how and why particular forms of knowledge became accepted and rejected against the backdrop of urban redevelopment schemes. Significant changes in the kinds of knowledge that were deemed instrumental to urban planning will be explained by employing the notions of social norm change and norm entrepreneurs. This approach moves the focus away from knowledge as such. Rather it stresses the socio-cultural and political norms that precede and presuppose the (re)production and leg... Mehr ...