Ideological Fantasies in Planning Theories and Practices
Jean Hillier editor Elham Bahmanteymouri editor Mohsen Mohammadzadeh editor
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd
Publishing:15th Dec '25
£39.99
This title is due to be published on 15th December, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
This edited volume challenges the hegemonic ideologies that underpin contemporary planning thought and practice, building on and extending the pioneering work of Michael Gunder. Through the lens of fantasy—particularly as theorised in Lacanian psychoanalysis—contributors interrogate how planners’ desires, decisions, and subjectivities are shaped by ideological narratives that sustain dominant neoliberal structures. The book includes Michael Gunder’s influential work on ideological fantasy, alongside eleven original chapters that collectively deconstruct, traverse, and reimagine ideological constructs in planning.
The volume is organised into three thematic sections. The first critically deconstructs capitalist ideological fantasies embedded in planning education, urban imaginaries, participatory governance, and neoliberal policy discourses. The second explores how fantasies operate within environmental governance, housing activism (such as YIMBYism), flat ontologies, and community strategies, while also identifying possibilities for alternative discourses. The final section presents counter-hegemonic perspectives from non-Western contexts, including critiques of China’s Territorial Spatial Planning and Iranian philosophical traditions of truth-telling as ethical governance.
Contributors include established and emerging scholars from diverse global contexts, offering interdisciplinary insights for researchers and practitioners in planning, geography, sociology, philosophy, and political studies. This collection stands as both a scholarly tribute to Gunder’s intellectual legacy and a call for critical, transformative planning futures.
"This is a challenging collection massively demonstrating the interdisciplinary input of bringing together psychoanalytic and planning theory in order to rigorously highlight the ideological fantasies at work in planning practices and their political and spatial implications. Drawing on a multitude of examples and theoretical insights, this volume deserves to be widely read and debated. What better way to celebrate Michael Gunder’s legacy and his enduring impact on the field of planning theory and beyond?"
Professor Yannis Stavrakakis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
"Michael Gunder was a distinguished planning theorist with a unique tack on critical planning research, often employing a Lacanian strand of psychoanalytic theory to analyze ideologies and practices related to spatial planning. This commemorative collection shows that Gunder’s approach bears fruit in planning theory. The contributors apply his ideas to current planning issues. The book offers considerable insight into a theory building connecting planners’ interpretation of spatial governance with a main perspective for studying social phenomena."
Professor Emeritus Tore Øivin Sager, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
"This commemorative collection celebrates Michael Gunder’s enduring contribution to planning scholarship and particularly his application of Jacques Lacan’s psychoanalytic approaches to the field of planning. It brings together planning scholars who, inspired by Michale’s works, expand our understandings of the Lacanian concept of ‘fantasy’ and its function in shining lights on the nature of planning practices. Their contributions make the book an essential reading for everyone interested in Michael’s scholarship as well as Lacanian planning theory more broadly."
Professor Simin Davoudi, School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, Newcastle University, UK
ISBN: 9781032741536
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
304 pages