Spatial Development in Luxembourg: Mimetic Evolution or Emergence of a New Planning Culture?

Luxembourg’s planning system is currently undergoing a fundamental reform with the
establishment of completely new structures in some parts of it. The present paper reflects these
developments in the following steps: We start by proposing a heuristic based on the planning
culture perspective originally developed by Frank Othengrafen and colleagues, taking into
account (a) planning artefacts, (b) the planning environment, and (c) the societal environment.
Before we subsume the contemporary developments of the planning system we provide a brief
description of Luxembourg’s spatial context which, due to the country’s small size and the high
growth rates of its economy and population in the past years, displays a number of peculiar
features. Applying the planning culture perspective on the planning system and its societal
context reveals not only hybrid characteristics with regard to neighbouring systems. It also
provides the important characteristics of the small state and shows the limits of the planning
culture perspective.