Introduction to the New Normal in Planning, Governance, and Participation

Departing from the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has entered a new phase of the risk society, a phase dominated by uncertainty and indeterminacy, and a persistent sense of urgency. Crises and urgencies are not new. However, COVID-19 has established a new need for reflexivity and for society to interrogate the existing basic needs and required knowledge on and across the many scales of human survival. This introductory chapter presents the argument for and the concept of a paradigm shift in planning, governance, and participation. We call this shift the “new normal”. The chapter presents this shift by identifying research themes emerging during COVID-19 along with the transformation of planning, governance, and participation. Second, we frame the directions of the new normal while presenting the structure and the main contribution of the book. The “new normal” is a paradigm shift of “living with” risks—rather than only fighting against them. With little time for reflection, the new normal requires urban research to align efforts, capitalize on learnings from past experiences and the COVID-19 pandemic, and rethink priorities to shape future directions and perspectives across disciplines and diverse urban experiences.