Bricolage Planning: Understanding Planning in a Fragmented City

Planning today is a field in reconstruction where new ways of thinking and making the city are experienced. It is trying to deal with the increasing fragmentation of space and society that is challenging its efficacy - even its relevance. In this chapter, by relying on Actor-Network Theory's concepts and case studies of Beirut's suburbs, we observe and analyze new practices, tools and efforts made to charter new ways for gathering resources and organizing collective action. In these case studies, we can see that in a fragmented city and on a local level, urban development initiatives are not necessarily chaotic juxtapositions of autonomous projects. Local networks including different kinds of actors may well be in action. These local networks represent laboratories experimenting governance arrangements, urban planning tools and territory building strategies by using at-hand resources and know-how. We call this planning approach Bricolage Planning.