Volume 22 of Critical Planning investigates cities and regions in crisis. We take crisis as a concept with both negative and positive connotations, and as a central element in the simultaneous destruction and regeneration that characterizes the contemporary city-region.

In the spirit of Edward Soja’s work on “crisis-generated restructuring” and “re- structuring-generated crisis,” we invited submissions exploring both the destruc- tive and regenerative aspects of crisis and the implications for cities and their re- gions. In particular, we sought contributions attentive to the interactions across policymaking, planning, and social movements that characterize the process of crisis formation, and the often-contested forms of crisis response. Our scope is both global and local, providing insight into the ways in which crises at the urban and regional levels shape and are shaped by extra-local factors operating across multiple scales.

It is our hope that the collection of critical scholarship that comprises Volume 22 illustrates both the destructive and regenerative aspects of crisis. Rather than signaling the death knell for the city, this volume aims to provide insight into the conditions of possibility crisis may create.

Critical Planning

Where There is Smoke There is Fire: Scenes From Southern California, Summer 2020

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