Meaning and Action: Community Planning and Conceptions of Change

Meaning and Actions, published in 1987, explores the difficulty of matching an understanding of social problems to effective strategies in a time of fiscal constraints and economic changes. Peter Marris examines the relationship between the way we conceive problems and the possibilities of action, drawing on American and British experiences and policies. He shows how community planners and organizers became disillusioned with existing policies and searched for a more comprehensive understanding of urban social structure, but this understanding was difficult to translate into practicable strategies. The book sets this analysis into a broader framework, showing how the pressures of inflation, rising taxes, and unemployment undermined a liberal conception of urban policy and the supportive context it had provided for more radical improvements. The final chapters discuss the alternative, new conceptions of social theory that are emerging and examine how the metaphors we use to represent social reality can help or hinder our ability to re-integrate meaning and action.

Format: Hardback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 30 May 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Meaning and Actions, first published in 1987, delves into the challenging task of aligning an understanding of social problems with effective strategies in a time of enduring fiscal constraints and significant transformations in economic structures. Peter Marris explores the intricate relationship between how we perceive problems and the range of actions available to us by examining two British policies: the National Community Development Project and the redevelopment of London's dockland. Drawing upon both American and British experiences and policies, Marris demonstrates how, as community planners and organizers grew disillusioned with the assumptions underlying existing policies, they embarked on a quest for a more comprehensive understanding of urban social structure. Simultaneously, this understanding became increasingly difficult to translate into practical and implementable strategies of action.

The book contextualizes this analysis within a broader framework, highlighting how the pressures of inflation, rising taxes, and unemployment eroded the liberal conception of urban policy and the supportive environment it had fostered for more radical improvements. It sheds light on the ideological dilemma underlying the emergence of the Thatcher and Reagan administrations and the disarray of left-wing political parties. The final chapters explore the emerging alternative conceptions of social theory and examine how the metaphors we employ to represent social reality, such as structure or reproduction, can either facilitate or hinder our ability to re-integrate meaning and action.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032309798