ABSTRACT
The intention of the above quotes is to unsettle taken-for-granted assumptions about the production of space in urban environments and the role that urban planning plays in this. Most urban and planning theory is produced by authors writing in English or various European languages and through publishing companies for a market readership located in the global North. Although increasingly there are exceptions it is usually the case that these Northern authors assume that the socio-political and cultural characteristics with which they are familiar (primarily, variations of Western liberal democracy and relatively well resourced although unequal societies) are also true for most other parts of the world. Many such urban and planning theories and substantive ideas do not even specify the contextual assumptions upon which they are based, but simply put forward propositions and recommendations in a generalized manner as if they were true in all contexts. The central argument of this chapter is that the globe is characterized by deep economic, social and cultural divides and differences, and that assumptions underpinning many mainstream theories often do not hold outside their region of origin. This is not to suggest that all planning ideas, models or practices are only applicable in the place they were conceived. There are examples around the globe of situations where ideas have been successfully transferred across contexts; there are also far more examples of where this kind of transfer has been inappropriate, has taken place for the wrong reasons and has had disastrous consequences for those affected by it.
