How to Turn a Planning Conflict into a Planning Success? Conditions for Constructive Conflict Management in the Case of Ruggeveld-Boterlaar-Silsburg in Antwerp, Belgium

摘要

Spatial projects are often contested. In most cases, contested planning projects evolve into what some conflict scholars have labeled as destructive or intractable conflicts. However, collaborative planning theorists claim that under certain conditions, conflicts can result into constructive outcomes. The Ruggeveld-Boterlaar-Silsburg case in Antwerp, Flanders, might be considered as a conflict with a constructive outcome. We reflect upon the conditions for constructive conflict management and argue that public authority, citizens and experts have to leave their traditional roles. This implies openness to collaborative approaches from the public authority, governance capacity from citizens and finally a collaborative approach toward design.