Mainport and corridor: exploring the mobilizing capacities of Dutch spatial concepts

Lianne van Duinen

Planning Theory & Practice, 2013, vol. 14, issue 2, 211-232

Abstract: Spatial concepts play a major role in planning practices all over the world. Some of them rise to the surface and then disappear, others remain thriving for a long time, becoming mobilized to shape politics, public policy and projects. By analysing two important spatial concepts in Dutch planning practice (mainport and corridor), this paper aims to explore the mobilizing capacities of new spatial concepts. The paper argues that the success of spatial concepts in the political arena depends on the interplay of two elements: (1) the concept's meaning, which effectively imagines the spatial challenge, and (2) the presence of a powerful coalition that uses this concept to name, frame and claim. The more meanings a concept accumulates, the more support it attracts. However, as this paper shows, this only holds if a major condition is being met: that the different meanings of the concept do not mutually conflict or contradict. This article presents a method by which to analyse the concept's meanings and to track conceptual changes.

Date: 2013
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/14649357.2013.782423 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:rptpxx:v:14:y:2013:i:2:p:211-232

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/rptp20

DOI: 10.1080/14649357.2013.782423

Access Statistics for this article

Planning Theory & Practice is currently edited by Heather Campbell

More articles in Planning Theory & Practice from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().