This paper examines aspects of Lacanian critical social theory in terms of its appropriateness for understanding urban planning. We tell a story from planning practice in Western Australia which we then analyse by introducing Lacan's notion of the master signifier and the sets of knowledges, values and practices which master signifiers embody. We then apply the Lacanian concepts of desire and jouissance, followed by an exploration of the Lacanian four discourses and the speech acts, or language games, of the planner and the ‘planned’. We conclude by estimating the potential value of Lacanian analysis for understanding planning praxis.
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