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
In this thesis I explore the role of place narratives in the evolution of planning and regeneration policies for the Lower Lea Valley in east London between 1995 and 2015. The Lower Lea includes the site for the 2012 Olympic Games and is one of London’s designated growth areas in the London Plan. Focusing on qualitative dimensions of planning and regeneration policy, I undertake a narrative analysis of a selection of plans and regeneration strategy documents produced during that period and also transcripts of interviews held with twenty-five people who were closely involved in the production of plans and regeneration strategies. I address the concept of narrative in three senses: the study of stories of place in documents and conversation and their relationship to policy; the telling of a story as a way to organise and present research findings; and the use of the tools of narrative analysis in the investigation of the research and in drawing conclusions. I address the evolution of narrative themes and also consider the role that the structure of narrative plays in contributing to policy and its influence on change. My central proposition is that narrative plays a key role in the evolution of ideas within a community of policy and decision makers. While planning documents and policy documents are not structured in a storied form, the narrativity of aspects of those policy documents plays an active role in the shifting place narratives for the Lea Valley over time, as I observe in the stories told by the policy makers involved.
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations