Soft spaces, fuzzy boundaries, and metagovernance: the new spatial planning in the Thames Gateway

This paper examines the changing practices of spatial planning, critically engaging with state theory to argue that a new generation of ‘soft spaces’ and ‘fuzzy boundaries’ occupies a key position in the emergent planning system. In the process we question whether privileged scales and sectors can meaningfully be identified in current state-restructuring processes. We use interviews with key national policy makers and a case study of the Thames Gateway to test our ideas.