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Producing Planning Knowledge : How Professional PhD Candidates Bridge Research–Practice Divides

Bénit-Gbaffou, Claire and Williams, Glyn LU orcid (2023) In Urban Forum 34(3). p.343-367
Abstract

This paper addresses an important, but under-studied, pathway for knowledge production in the field of urban planning: the practitioner engaging with academia through the writing of a PhD. Drawing on our own experiences of doctoral mentoring, in dialogue with PhD candidates, we reflect on the questions and challenges this form of knowledge production raises. The paper aims to extend planning theory’s recognition of ‘multiple epistemologies’ (Sandercock, 2003) through a deeper understanding of how planning professionals as authors lead the translation of experiential knowledge into academic knowledge. Understanding why this is so difficult to actually (co)produce should lead us not only to better mentoring, but also to critical... (More)

This paper addresses an important, but under-studied, pathway for knowledge production in the field of urban planning: the practitioner engaging with academia through the writing of a PhD. Drawing on our own experiences of doctoral mentoring, in dialogue with PhD candidates, we reflect on the questions and challenges this form of knowledge production raises. The paper aims to extend planning theory’s recognition of ‘multiple epistemologies’ (Sandercock, 2003) through a deeper understanding of how planning professionals as authors lead the translation of experiential knowledge into academic knowledge. Understanding why this is so difficult to actually (co)produce should lead us not only to better mentoring, but also to critical reflection on how rigorous and relevant knowledge is defined within planning academia.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Urban Forum
volume
34
issue
3
pages
25 pages
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • scopus:85137234774
ISSN
1015-3802
DOI
10.1007/s12132-022-09472-w
language
English
LU publication?
no
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).
id
80f7d90e-d35a-433d-b565-5b91267554c8
date added to LUP
2025-05-29 21:46:35
date last changed
2025-06-09 15:31:14
@article{80f7d90e-d35a-433d-b565-5b91267554c8,
  abstract     = {{<p>This paper addresses an important, but under-studied, pathway for knowledge production in the field of urban planning: the practitioner engaging with academia through the writing of a PhD. Drawing on our own experiences of doctoral mentoring, in dialogue with PhD candidates, we reflect on the questions and challenges this form of knowledge production raises. The paper aims to extend planning theory’s recognition of ‘multiple epistemologies’ (Sandercock, 2003) through a deeper understanding of how planning professionals as authors lead the translation of experiential knowledge into academic knowledge. Understanding why this is so difficult to actually (co)produce should lead us not only to better mentoring, but also to critical reflection on how rigorous and relevant knowledge is defined within planning academia.</p>}},
  author       = {{Bénit-Gbaffou, Claire and Williams, Glyn}},
  issn         = {{1015-3802}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{343--367}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Urban Forum}},
  title        = {{Producing Planning Knowledge : How Professional PhD Candidates Bridge Research–Practice Divides}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12132-022-09472-w}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s12132-022-09472-w}},
  volume       = {{34}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}