THE ROLE OF PLACE NARRATIVES IN PLANNING A STUDY OF THE EVOLUTION OF PLANNING AND REGENERATION POLICIES FOR THE LOWER LEA VALLEY IN EAST LONDON Michael John Owens School of the Built Environment University of Salford Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of the Built Environment May 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................... I LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES ................................................................................ VI ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................ VII DECLARATION ..................................................................................................... VIII ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................... IX ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. X CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 1 1.1 The purpose of this chapter .............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 How the research was initiated ......................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Definition of key concepts used throughout the research .............................................................. 4 1.4: The study context ............................................................................................................................. 6 1.5 Defining the research problem ....................................................................................................... 14 1.6 The aim and objectives of the study ............................................................................................... 18 1.7 Thesis structure ................................................................................................................................ 19 CHAPTER 2: COLLABORATIVE PLANNING THEORY ................................................ 22 2.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 22 2.2 Defining collaborative planning ..................................................................................................... 22 i 2.3 The theory of collaborative planning ............................................................................................. 24 2.4 Meta theories in collaborative planning ........................................................................................ 28 2.5 Narrative in collaborative planning ............................................................................................... 31 2.6 Critical challenges to collaborative planning ................................................................................ 33 2.7 Discursive institutionalism .............................................................................................................. 35 2.8 Urban mentality ............................................................................................................................... 35 2.9 Conclusions: key concepts used to develop my analytic framework .......................................... 37 CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW – OLYMPIC LEGACY .......................................... 39 3.1 A literature review of legacy related research .............................................................................. 39 3.2 The evolution of the concept of legacy ........................................................................................... 39 3.3 The changing institutional context and its impact on the legacy agenda ................................... 43 3.4 Legacy: a potent myth and a promise in time and space ............................................................. 49 3.5 The challenge of measuring legacy ................................................................................................. 51 3.6 Measuring legacy: convergence ...................................................................................................... 53 3.7 Measuring legacy: the DCMS meta-evaluation studies ............................................................... 54 3.8 Measuring legacy: the Olympic Games impact study .................................................................. 54 3.9 Assessing legacy: reckless promises ............................................................................................... 56 3.10 Affordable housing and gentrification ......................................................................................... 57 3.11 Ground control .............................................................................................................................. 58 3.12 Economic development and business dispersal ........................................................................... 58 3.13 The nostalgia of the critics ............................................................................................................ 59 3.14 Implications of legacy literature for my research ....................................................................... 60 3.15 Rationale for my focus on collaborative planning ...................................................................... 62 ii CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .............................................................. 65 4.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 65 4.2 Ontology and epistemology ............................................................................................................. 65 4.3 Qualitative research ........................................................................................................................ 66 4.4 Interpretivism .................................................................................................................................. 67 4.5 Ethnography ..................................................................................................................................... 68 4.6 Narrative analysis ............................................................................................................................ 70 4.7 Structuration theory ........................................................................................................................ 73 4.8 Reflexivity ......................................................................................................................................... 75 4.9 Considering alternative methodological choices ........................................................................... 78 CHAPTER 5: METHODS ......................................................................................... 81 5.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 81 5.2 Data sources: overview .................................................................................................................... 81 5.3 Participant observation and access to the field ............................................................................. 82 5.4 Sampling strategy: creating my selected group of respondents .................................................. 83 5.5 Gatekeeping and access ................................................................................................................... 84 5.6 Sampling strategy: planning documents ....................................................................................... 85 5.7 Details of the people interviewed and the distribution of the sample ......................................... 85 5.8 Conducting the interviews .............................................................................................................. 89 5.9 Narrative analysis ............................................................................................................................ 92 5.10 Applying structuration theory: analytic tools ............................................................................. 93 5.11 Authoritative texts ......................................................................................................................... 94 5.12 Conclusions: my approach to analysis ......................................................................................... 96 iii 5.13 Ethical considerations ................................................................................................................... 96 5.14 Quality in qualitative research ..................................................................................................... 97 CHAPTER 6: FINDINGS 1995 – 2002 ....................................................................... 98 6.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 98 6.2 Narrative constructions of the Lower Lea as a place 1995-2002 ............................................... 100 6.3 Narrative constructions of agency and authorship 1995-2002 .................................................. 105 6.4 The play of counter-narratives