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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Article
Changing Places: On the Use of Utopia and the Role of a Place Alarm System
Author(s)
Tore Omholt
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DOI:10.17265/2328-2185/2018.06.009
Affiliation(s)
BI-Norwegian Business School, Oslo, Norway
ABSTRACT
In
the paper, the experience of contradictions and conflicts as a normal feature
of social change and evolutionary trends, is discussed. Contradictions normally
destabilize a system, causing dilemmas and conflicts. However, the paper warns
against thinking of destabilization as dysfunctional, as complex systems
require a high degree of instability to deal with changes in the environment.
Dealing with instabilities requires systems, which can produce alarms that signal a need to regain
additional options for development and introduce them into the planning
process. The paper introduces the concept of a place alarm system, which uses
visions and utopias in various forms for alarm purposes. To illustrate this
kind of thinking, the paper first presents a model of an alarm system, which
demonstrates how we can deal with contradictions by including the temporal
dimension in our analyses of place systems and bring broader temporal horizons
into consideration. As an example, contradictions increase when we consider the
future from the perspective of the present; the present future multiplies
contradictions. On the other hand, viewing the present from the future (future
present), creates possibilities for goal-directed planning to avoid the problems, which have produced alarm signals.
As the paper demonstrates, these two possibilities of what may be called
reflexive and utopian temporal modalizations, are not given as alternatives,
but mutually imply each other. The paper then presents two case illustrations,
which demonstrate how to deal with conflict and contradictions to facilitate
collective and goal-directed planning, using the alarm system framework. In
both cases, we are witnessing place planning processes, which lack the
necessary requisite variety (Ashby, 1956) to deal effectively with the environmental complexity and
internal conflicts facing the local communities. As indicated in the analyses,
the present planning regimes do not promote variety and vitality regarding
current place developments.
KEYWORDS
utopia, alarm system, conflict, contradiction, democratic participation, collective action
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