DrLinda Fox-Rogers

Guiding Linda's research is an interest in understanding how the production of the built environment and its various social, economic and environmental ramifications not only reflect, but also reproduce the uneven power dynamics that are inherent within advanced capitalist societies. Set against this concern, her current research spans three thematic areas: 1) Power and politics in the planning system; 2) The neoliberalisation of the state and planning; and 3) Stakeholder perceptions of planning.

1) Power and politics in the planning system
Linda has a deep interest in advancing our understanding of how issues of power and politics permeate the planning process. This research strand underpinned her PhD thesis, the central objective of which was to examine how power relations arise between key stakeholders in the planning system, the mechanisms by which power is exerted, and how such power imbalances become manifested as social, economic and environmental outcomes which negate sound planning practice. This work is contributing to key debates within planning theory and critical urban geography, whilst also offering practical recommendations to practitioners and policy makers within the sphere of planning and environmental policy. In particular, it highlights the existence of an informal or 'shadow' planning system which operates alongside the formal planning process, but is exclusively available to powerful development interests. To date, this body of work has been published in high impact journals such as Planning Theory, Cities, and Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, and Planning Theory. It has also attracted over €107,000 in funding from Irish Research Council through their highly competitive Postgraduate and Postdoctoral Fellowship Schemes in 2010 and 2014 respectively. The contribution that Linda is making in this sphere is reflected in her being awarded an Early Career Researcher Award (Commended) at the Royal Town Planning Institute's Research Excellence Awards in 2016.

2) Neoliberalisation of the state and planning
This aspect of Linda's research is concerned with critically analysing how the state and its institutions have been transformed under processes of neoliberalisation. Specifically, she is interested in exploring how the planning system in particular has been reoriented towards the interests of private capital at the expense of the common good as new governance arrangements unfold. This work critically analyses how legislative changes are playing an important role in driving the shift towards entrepreneurial planning practice. It also elucidates how processes of neoliberalisation have opened up new opportunities for development interests to exert influence in more subtle and implicit ways than was previously possible, namely through the (mis)use of planning gain agreements. Linda's research in this broad area has been disseminated at a range of international conferences and has been published in ‘Town Planning Review’ (the world’s oldest and most prestigious planning journal) and ‘Geoforum’. It has also been featured in an edited volume which explores issues of neoliberalisation within an Irish context alongside a number of leading international academics within the field of spatial planning and urban studies.

3) Stakeholder perceptions of planning
Linda is also keen to examine the normative views of planning practitioners and other key stakeholders in relation to nature, purpose and efficacy of planning practice. She is currently leading an unfunded project involving a team of researchers from QUB and Cardiff University to explore stakeholder perspectives of the planning system through a widespread survey of planning stakeholders throughout Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Wales. This work has received media coverage from BBC Northern Ireland (https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-53179484) and was referenced in the recently published Northern Ireland Audit Office (2022) report on Planning in Northern Ireland (see 23). It is currently being developed into a series of published outputs that will form the basis of future collaborative funding applications.