What’s the future for planning in a time of democratic retreat, white supremacy, and silence?

Journal article, 2023

It has been argued that we are witnessing an ‘antidemocratic turn’ in history. It draws on ideologies of white supremacyand disregard fundamental principles of democracy. Antidemocratic attacks are often directed, through hate and threats, towards politicians, researchers, and non-governmental organisations that engage in democratic aspects of societal development, such as critical and spatial investigations of racial discrimination, gender inequalities and human rights. The above is troubling news for a profession that likes to think of itself as a facilitator for democratic futures. This article shows how a growing self-censorship ishaving real implications for planning. As a conclusion, it is stated that the planning profession must ask itself what futures, and for whom, it is contributing to. It is argued that, as planners, we need to acknowledge that antidemocratic attacks from white supremacist stem from a colonial relationship which continues to produce violence as well as deep inequalities all over the world. It is furthermore argued that if the planning profession wants to contribute todemocratic futures, it urgently needs to scrutinize how its own practices are imbued with racial capitalism. If not, it is stated, what future will there be for critical planning theory and practice?