Broadcasting Exclusion

This is a qualitative study of how planning, instrumentalized by an established and politically active constituent body, contributes to the exclusion of certain marginalized populations. It examines the mechanisms through which this takes place by examining the practice of unpermitted subdivision of single-family homes, debates concerning its enforcement, and discussion of possible avenues toward its legalization in Rockland County, NY. Local planning and code enforcement officials participated in semi-structured interviews regarding official responses to illegal housing and its relationship to public opinion in their jurisdictions. Complaints collected through a countywide code enforcement initiative were also analyzed to gauge the social and spatial dimensions of anti-illegal-housing sentiment. Other media including newspaper articles, records of public forums, and recently completed comprehensive plans were used to analyze the evolution of public opinion and how it was communicated to and received by local planners. The study uses a communicative planning theory approach in examining planning's relationship to public opinion, how it is measured and interpreted, as well as what sources of information and constituent groups are left out of the process, exposing opportunities for planners to better understand and negotiate conflict in suburban areas experiencing rapid demographic change.