What can be understood by spatial transformation, how does it manifest itself and what are the characteristics of transformation processes? This Research Report addresses these questions and presents current research projects and approaches from an academic and practical (planning) perspective. A central point of reference is the concept of a "Great Transformation", which stems from an expert report by the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU). It outlines the profound changes in the economy and society towards sustainability that will become necessary in the future, describing them as a "Great Transformation". Likewise, social upheavals also manifest themselves in space, enabling spatial changes to be understood as spatial transformations. However, on a detailed level it remains unclear what is to be understood by spatial transformation processes and how they manifest themselves. Against the background of this need for (further) research, this Research Report addresses concrete issues in the research and shaping of spatial transformation processes. The aim is to systematise the largely unordered or disordered knowledge of spatial transformation processes and to contribute to a common understanding of the associated concepts, which can form the basis for further research and for the steering of these processes. The articles on the following topics show how spatial and social transformation processes are mutually dependent and what opportunities and challenges inter- and transdisciplinary research designs can offer in this context: Perspectives on transformation processes; Social and settlement structures in change; Regional development and innovation; Transformation processes in the so-called Global South; New challenges for planning, processes and stakeholders; Research on transformation. The contributions to theoretical, methodological and practical approaches are intended to stimulate a critical discussion on spatial transformation that is open to new, interdisciplinary perspectives.

This book is concerned with how spatial planning and design can better contribute to fundamental changes and transformations of the spatial organisation of society that are at once qualitative, sustainable and socially inclusive. For academics, researchers and students in planning, urban design, urban studies, human and economic geography, public administration and policy studies.

The Routledge Handbook of Planning Research Methods is an expansive look at the traditions, methods, and challenges of research design and research projects in contemporary urban planning. Through case studies, an international group of researchers, planning practitioners, and planning academics and educators, all recognized authorities in the field, provide accounts of designing and implementing research projects from different approaches and venues. This book shows how to apply quantitative and qualitative methods to projects, and how to take your research from the classroom to the real world. The book is structured into sections focusing on Beginning planning research Research design and development Rediscovering qualitative methods New advances in quantitative methods Turning research into action With chapters written by leading scholars in spatial planning, The Routledge Handbook of Planning Research Methods is the most authoritative and comprehensive handbook on the topic, providing both established and ground breaking coverage of spatial planning research methods. The book is an invaluable resource for undergraduate and graduate level students, young professionals and practitioners in urban, regional, and spatial planning.

This cutting-edge Research Agenda for Place Branding explores ideas and debates that inform a refreshing take on the future of place branding and marketing. It argues that we are at a juncture where the logical and sensible step is to push the ‘reset button’ on such activity and fully reconsider its purpose and goals.

Politics of Socio-Spatial Transformation in Pakistan analyses the relationship between socio-spatial transformation, styles of leadership and nature of constituents in Pakistan. It examines the way social change influences politics and leadership in its most populated province. Offering a unique viewpoint to study the relationship between politics and social change by examining the nature of relationship between leaders and their constituents, the author introduces the concept of Gradients of Engagements. The book describes the way values of engagement (Talluq) and styles of leadership mediate engagements among politicians, citizens and state bureaucracy in villages and small towns of Pakistani Punjab. Starting with the mapping of socio-economic and spatio-demographic non-metropolitan locales, the book illustrates the centrality of the processes of "rurbanization" and "governmentalization". It points out how political leaders mediate these processes, personal and public demands of their constituents’ invoking claims or representativeness and public service. The author breaks engagements between leaders and constituents into four gradients of representation (elections), public service delivery (development), everyday problem-solving (governance) and collective action, thus providing a contextualized and grounded comprehension of the process democratization and its substantive and performative aspects. In addition to providing a historical sketch of economic development, evolution of social organization and development of political institutions in Punjab, the book includes an ethnography of political elites and study of everyday political engagements to show how the styles of leadership mediates the process of institutional development and public service delivery in "rurban" Punjab. A novel contribution to the study of political processes such as state formation, collective action, representation, and citizenship in a comparative manner embedded in space and informed by cultural meanings, the book will be of interest to researchers studying South Asian, Pakistan and Punjab/Sikh studies, Development Studies and Urban Studies.