The schism of strategic planning in the climate crisis

Strategic planning is traditionally defined as a broader, more flexible process compared to statutory spatial planning. It most often involves investments and partnerships in urban development projects, increasing carbon emissions as a result. This creates a schism between the stated sustainable development objectives and the actual consequences of strategic planning. This study first tracked this schism in academic discourse across three different approaches to strategic planning. It revealed that the focus on ‘strategic’ in planning literature contrasts with the urgent commitments required for climate change mitigation. Second, the study investigated how this schism manifests in the two case studies of the tourism strategy and mobility planning in Copenhagen, Denmark. Given their significant role in urban development, tourism and mobility planning have major consequences for carbon emissions. Through a critical policy analysis, the case studies reveal how the schism unfolded – not only as a schism between vision and practice but also as contradictions within policy documents. The findings highlight the critical need to rethink strategic planning to effectively address the challenges of the climate crisis. Effective climate change mitigation requires a fundamentally different kind of strategic planning that is focused on reducing activities that produce carbon emissions.