Planning education in a globalized world

Five aspects of planning education at the turn of the century are discussed in this comment on Leonie Sandercock's well argued paper. The dominance of English as lingua franca and the advance of the Anglo‐American approach to planning education in a globalizing world are seen as facts which give long standing regional traditions in other cultures little chance to transfer their experience and knowledge to the English speaking planning world. Despite global convergence in planning and planning education the adaptation to regional characteristics is still essential to move from knowledge to action in urban and regional development. Training students to develop creative competence is considered as a crucial and indispensable component in planning education. However, returning to physical planning and urban design as taught in many European schools, is considered to be deadly for the future of planning schools in Europe. This danger and the never‐ending departmental disputes among planners coming from different academic backgrounds about planning education makes planning educators the most dangerous enemies of forward looking planning education. This brief comment to Leonie Sandercock's inspiring paper is written with an optimistic outlook. The optimism is based on a scenario of two quite different concepts of planning education: a global, more theoretical concept aiming at advancing knowledge in the field, and a regional, more professional one which strives for better local and regional life spaces in a globalizing world, dominated by global markets and a global value system.     

Nostalgia for Rabaul1

In September 1994, an eruption of the Rabaul Volcano in East New Britain, Papua New Guinea, devastated the town of Rabaul and many surrounding Tolai villages. Many villagers were resettled or lived in refugee camps far from their homes. Many non-Tolai residents of Rabaul were repatriated to other parts of Papua New Guinea. Tolai villagers and former residents of Rabaul, be they Papua New Guineans or expatriates, mourned the passing of ‘Rabaul’. This article examines the different nostalgias for Rabaul which are articulated in the Australian print media, by Tolai villagers, and by migrants from the Sepik provinces who had lived in Rabaul prior to the eruption. The article concludes with a reflection on Rabaul as a symbol for the Papua New Guinean nation.     

Towards rapprochement? Anglo-Argentine relations and the Falklands/Malvinas in the late 1990s

This article argues that Britain and Argentina are now in a position to move towards unprecedented levels of political and economic cooperation concerning the governance of the Falklands and the surrounding seas. Since 1990, bilateral relations have been strengthened over issues such as fishing, oil and natural gas licensing communications and visits of the Argentine next-of-kin. It is argued that the Blair government has an opportunity not only to further the process of reconciliation but also to stimulate progress towards a permanent 'sovereignty umbrella'. Against this setting, there is some pressure on the Menem government to obtain some recognition of their interests and claim to the Falklands/Malvinas. The article concludes by asserting that all major parties should seek to generate a permanent cooperative structure which recognizes a measure of self-governance of the Falklands within a world increasingly characterized by supraterritorial and transborder relationships.