Virtanen, M.  ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3700-2463
2025.
Making sense of exceptional planning decisions: exploring the agonistic dynamics of sustainability in infrastructure planning.
European Planning Studies
10.1080/09654313.2025.2522234
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Abstract
The ambiguity of sustainable development is commonly perceived as negative, leading to unsustainable planning decisions and projects. In the UK, the devolution of planning powers to the subnational level, as in the case of Wales, however, is resulting in re-interpretations of sustainability through the emerging planning framework. This article utilizes agonism to explore the contested nature of sustainability to assess the scope for re-interpretations provided by the devolved planning system in Wales. To explore the formation of localized sustainability discourses and their influence on the planning process, this paper takes inspiration from the field of media studies, adopting the method of media analysis to investigate the research questions. Exploring how the media represents the contested sustainability of the case of the proposed M4 Corridor around Newport (M4CaN) motorway plan in Wales, the paper argues that local media provides an agonistic platform for constructing alternative arguments that challenge those initially put forward by decisionmakers. While the media’s own news logic influences how narratives come together and which ones gain traction, it nevertheless provides space for local actors to construct alternative knowledges of sustainability that, over time, come to facilitate support for political decisions to move away from unsustainable infrastructure planning.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Date Type: | Published Online |
| Status: | In Press |
| Schools: | Schools > Geography and Planning (GEOPL) |
| Publisher: | Taylor and Francis Group |
| ISSN: | 0965-4313 |
| Date of First Compliant Deposit: | 18 June 2025 |
| Date of Acceptance: | 16 June 2025 |
| Last Modified: | 30 Jun 2025 08:47 |
| URI: | https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/179166 |
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