Developing a collective capacity for place management

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to develop and demonstrate an integrated framework for planning and supporting place management development and practices. Design/methodology/approach – First, the paper uses social systems theory as a meta‐theoretical framework to integrate various theoretical perspectives on place interventions to deal with problems of uncertainty related to place development. Second, it shows how a combination of place interventions can be organized to deal with the uncertainties and contribute to a collective capacity for action. Finally, it concludes with presenting an integrated framework for planning and supporting place development, and applies this in two cases of place development to illustrate how it works. Findings – Effective place development requires a combination of information processing interventions to deal with the uncertainties facing place stakeholders. Research limitations/implications – The literature on social systems theory is on a high level of abstraction and further case applications are needed to assist practitioners. Practical implications – The success of the proposed framework has been repeated in several case replications and indicates a potential for supporting practitioners. Originality/value – This paper shows how the complexities facing place development can be conceptualized and dealt with in an effective and practical manner.