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We are delighted to announce the publication of “Planning as a Welfare Project”, edited by Dorian Bianco, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow in History of Art at Sorbonne Abu Dhabi for Innovation and Research Institute (SAFIR). This volume makes a substantive contribution to the historical understanding of planning and its broader societal role.
The book offers an international perspective on the emergence of “welfare planning” since the 1930s, examining how planning models, policies, and design practices operate across different scales and political systems. Particularly compelling is the way it situates planning at the intersection of social, environmental, and spatial policies, framing it as an instrument of social and economic modernisation.
Drawing on case studies from Europe, the USSR, the United States, and Sri Lanka, the book demonstrates how the balance between state and market is materially reflected in urban and architectural forms. Moving beyond national perspectives, it adopts a transnational lens to highlight the circulation of planning models and the ways they have been used to organise well-being and living standards—ultimately shaping welfare societies.
From Dorian Bianco: “I’m delighted to share that the collective volume Planning as a Welfare Project has just been published under my direction by Peter Lang International Academic Publishers. Drawing on selected case studies from France, Denmark, the USA, the USSR, and Sri Lanka, it shows how architectural and urban design have contributed to shaping living standards and social organisation across different political systems.
I am deeply grateful to the contributors — Elodie Bitsindou, Anne Brædder, Anne Corlin, Stéphane Gaessler, PhD, Dirk van den Heuvel, Mikkel Høghøj, Benoit Pouvreau, and Mikkel Thelle — for their insightful contributions, as well as to my former PhD supervisor Jean-Baptiste Minnaert for his support throughout the process.”
This publication is a timely contribution, particularly as the links between planning, social policy, and environmental challenges continue to gain attention in both public and academic discourse.
For more information, please click here.
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