Planning activism: Using Social Media to claim marginalized citizens’ right to the city: Fid-Bau Portal

Planning activism: Using Social Media to claim marginalized citizens’ right to the city

Tayebi, Ali

Highlights • I introduce planning activism as an informal role outside planning power structure. • Planning activists pursue marginalized citizens’ right to the city. • Traditionally those who have money and power have access to mass media. • IT and Social Media give activists a low-cost/free means to spread their word. • Planning activists can use Social Media to advocate citizens’ right to the city.

Abstract Finding a physical solution for complex social problems has been one of the dominant approaches in planning experiences since the beginning of 20th century. Expansion of scientific rationality in social science is one of the theoretical foundations of these experiences that led to domination of comprehensive planning as rational and efficient way of doing planning in many cities. After Habermas introduces communicative rationality as an alternative for scientific rationality, many planners have tried to bring his idea in planning and define new roles for planners such as advocates, facilitators, and mediators. This paper does not aim to enter this discussion to define a formal role for planners in exiting planning structure, instead it introduces an informal role for planners as activists outside power structure and planning departments to pursue marginalized citizens’ right to the city. Planning activists, like other kind of activist such as Human Right activists, work with marginalized citizens to raise their voices in existing decision-making processes and power structures. Since Information Technology and Social Media have revolutionized activists’ works in pursuing their causes around the world, this paper discuss how planning activists can use these tools to advocate both parts of citizens’ right to the city, which are right of participation and right of appropriation.