Abstract
This study introduces metamodernism as an emergent metatheoretical framework for reinterpreting contemporary planning theory. Arising from the exhaustion of both modernist rationalism and postmodern skepticism, metamodernism is defined by its oscillatory logic, plural epistemologies, and reflexive normativity. The paper argues that planning theory—fragmented across procedural, agonistic, ecological, and strategic paradigms—can benefit from a metamodern orientation that embraces complexity, ambiguity, and integrative meaning-making without collapsing into relativism or technocracy. Through a structured analysis of key 21st-century planning schools (e.g., postcolonial, digital, resilience, degrowth), the article assesses their compatibility with metamodern criteria across four dimensions: ontology, agency, epistemology, and temporality. The findings suggest that metamodernism enables a conceptual grammar capable of mediating theoretical incommensurability, fostering ethical responsibility, and guiding adaptive governance in the context of systemic uncertainty and metacrisis. The paper concludes by outlining implications for future theory-building, planning pedagogy, and institutional design in an era marked by epistemic volatility and planetary risk.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Metamodernism; Planning Theory; Reflexivity; Complexity; Epistemological Pluralism
