Exploring spatial governance and planning in Latin America. An introduction

Comparative spatial governance and planning studies has largely focused on the Global North, with European countries serving as the primary reference. Latin America presents a distinct institutional landscape where formal planning frameworks often coexist with informal governance mechanisms and socio-spatial practices that emerge in response to state and market failures. This chapter introduces the edited volume, positioning it within the broader literature on comparative spatial planning while making a case for expanding the geographical focus of comparative spatial governance and planning studies to Latin America. It outlines how Latina American spatial governance is shaped by colonial legacies and postcolonial reforms, which together create a hybrid planning environment that differs from the systems of the Global North, hence requiring a revisitation of traditional comparative methodologies. The editors argue that, by incorporating the concept of ‘other institutionality’ - alternative governance arrangements beyond formal state control - and applying it to ten different case studies, the book provides a novel lens for understanding spatial planning from a global perspective and to broaden North-focused spatial governance and planning studies. This introduction serves as an entry point for the reader, outlining the rationale and structure of the volume while situating its contributions within the ongoing debates on comparative spatial governance and planning.