Rethinking Values and Evaluation in Urban Planning. New Perspectives for Moral Geography: Insights From a German Case Study

Abstract

Although moral concepts shape human behavior, they are rarely communicated explicitly. This contradiction is also evident in geographical debates. Through studies on the intertwining of moral aspects, spatio-temporal patterns, and social relationships, geographers have significantly contributed to uncovering moral concepts and better understanding the mechanisms of their spatialization in various spatio-temporal and societal contexts. However, despite being the epitome of spatially effective practices, spatial planning has been infrequently considered. Therefore, this article focuses on spatial planning. It addresses the call for a pragmatic reformulation of values and demonstrates that this approach overlaps with the sociology of valuation and evaluation. It emphasizes the importance of evaluative practices as a constitutive element for values and views evaluation as a bridge between values and everyday evaluative practices. Against this backdrop, the study examines urban land-use planning in Germany to investigate which evaluation criteria planners use to assess land use in planning processes. It shows how these criteria are interpreted and what value references are established in this context. Based on an exploratory case study, it becomes clear that the pragmatic research approach can provide deeper context-sensitive insights into the motivations behind planning decisions as well as their normative foundations. Thus, it represents a promising approach for conceptualizing values as a research subject within the field of moral geography.