‘Time’ as a focus for planning research: exploring temporalities of coastal change

Abstract

‘Time’ is a taken-for-granted backdrop for most planning research. However, a nascent body of work suggests the need for greater sensitivity to the influence of time in stimulating views on what ‘is’ happening and ‘should be’ done about it. This paper extends such work by exploring how temporalities shape interpretations of reality in ways that can profile thinking and action. To achieve this, the paper mobilises the ‘assemblage theory’ of Deleuze and Guattari to facilitate an analysis of how signification and significance is constituted in the context of planning for change. A case study of coastal erosion is used to empirically explore the role of temporalities in contouring ontological, epistemological and normative perspectives. The analysis demonstrates that temporalities can be plural–and consequently political–in planning debates. This is important for planning research and practice as it suggests that attempting to appreciate diverging viewpoints in the absence of attention to different temporalities limits the capacity for understanding, and as such, curtails the feasibility of finding resolution to contentious planning issues.