Deconstructing Communicative Planning Theory: A Reply to Tewdwr-Jones and Allmendinger

This paper comments on a recent paper by Tewdwr-Jones and Allmendinger which presents a critique of the new paradigm of communicative planning theory. The comments focus on the significance of a social relational perspective in the communicative/institutionalist approach, the treatment of power, the method of ‘critical theory’, and the condition of contemporary British land-use planning practice. I conclude the paper by emphasising the need for new forms of policy analysis to reflect both new perspectives on the social relations of governance processes and the reconfiguration of governance unfolding in practice.