A decolonial analysis of urban and regional planning education in the global south

Abstract

Through a mixed-methods approach, this thesis compares how the higher education institutions in the Global South conceptualize and act on the decolonization of urban planning education. The main research question is: How do scholars in the Global South perceive and conceptualize the decolonization of urban planning education? The questions to investigate the issues further are as follows: What obstacles and limitations hinder the decolonizing efforts from succeeding in urban planning education? What methodologies do the Global South scholars use to decolonize the urban planning education curriculum in their contexts? What decolonizing methodologies can Turkish planning schools create to encourage local knowledge generation and resist the domination of Eurocentric norms? To answer this question, 17 scholars from 11 countries in the Global South and six former and current members of the Turkish Planning Schools' Association were interviewed. Additionally, all published documents by the association were analyzed. The thesis followed a Constructivist Grounded theory (CGT) methodology as its primary approach and supported it with additional quantitative analyses of the collected documents. Interestingly, the Global South categorization and the inclusion of Türkiye were also received with surprise by many. CGT theoretical coding also revealed differences in conceptualizing and approaching the decolonization phenomenon. The Global South scholars' narration and approach showed a more optimistic and critical arc toward urban planning education and practice, starting with contemplation, continuing with expressing concern about the future of the profession, but then concluding with a new reality of constructing practices and insurgent actions. However, Türkiye followed a more hesitant arc, starting with hesitation, continuing with contemplation with little critical engagement, and ending with a narrative of absence. Significantly few scholars addressed the need to generate local knowledge and radical curriculum change. Instead, they were concerned about the lack of resources across universities and departments regarding place, equipment, and teaching faculty. The results showed several overlaps between countries in terms of challenges and issues regarding education and urban planning practice. The categorical findings of this thesis show that in all interviewed institutions, there are problems concerning how planners are trained and equipped to address issues such as population increase, climate change, land ownership and housing, sustainable and affordable transport, and urban poverty.