Urban Planners as Network Managers and Metagovernors

This article presents a study of urban planning roles in Danish municipal planning as they evolve under changing planning conditions, such as project planning and network governance. The study finds that a hybrid planning role is emerging, dominated by four role variants, all of them necessary to solve complex planning problems. The consequences of the four role variants are discussed in terms of the planners' expert knowledge and their participation in local network governance. The study highlights the potential benefits of network management and metagovernance as governance tools in the development of planning roles.