Planning systems as ‘institutional technologies’: a proposal of conceptualisation

Planning systems have been one main subject of comparative spatial planning research in the past years. Although this may bear witness of scientific maturity and increasing institutional attention, one should admit that comparative planning research developed rather separately from contextual theoretical progress. The emerging planning systems classifications vary in accordance with variables that are each time considered, but comparisons result to be overall uprooted from some comprehensive idea of what planning systems are in nature. So, analyses are generally descriptive, while any attempt of evaluation proves to be difficult and controversial, preventing a real progress in planning theory and practice. Against this backdrop, the present paper is intended to contribute in covering such gap, advancing a proposal of conceptualisation. The notion of ‘institutional technology’ is particularly adopted and discussed in order to illustrate the specificity of planning systems functioning and possible evolution.