The stories that documents tell

Abstract

In this essay, I extend Lieven Ameel’s narrative approach to planning by adding a material perspective that treats planning documents as actors in planning practice. As actors, documents have consequences for planning beyond the stories that they convey. Among others, these consequences include providing the transparency essential for democratic planning, allowing planners to act at a distance, and strengthening institutional memory. I also reflect on the private stories that the public does not hear or read about and which are as important as the stories that Ameel deftly analyzes.