ABSTRACT
The previous chapter looked at the way in which the institutional framework has shaped policies and outcomes in regard to the provision of housing over time. Such policies and outcomes can only be effected through the actions of human agency, and it is this which forms the focus of the current chapter. What is considered here are the actions, proclivities and behaviours of individuals, groups and organisations as they negotiate the construction of the built environment in an increasingly unstable world. Hence the chapter examines the nature of negotiation, action and personal inclination, and how these are played out in the development context, albeit always bearing in mind the constraints and opportunities of structural and institutional limitations. The large number of actors involved includes developers, planners, design professionals and users, each acting within the role accorded to them. In addition there are other groups, bodies and individuals who have an interest in environmental issues, and who seek to infl uence both policy and built outcomes. These include on the one hand various organisations and institutes which act within the established frameworks of society, and on the other, groups and individuals who gain their infl uence specifi cally through their anti-establishment activities. In this regard social movements and anarchists play an important role in society in confronting injustices and dysfunctions and effecting change. They challenge entrenched perceptions and values, resist institutional oppression and problematise the way we live our lives. It is through their actions that we are enabled to confront the possibility of doing things in different ways, of taking alternative positions, of having other lifestyles. Also important are the beliefs, writings and actions of people who have risen to prominence, or even notoriety, because they have challenged normative views about development and design. Such individuals can be shown to have been instrumental or even visionary in terms of their transformative power in reinterpreting and redesigning the built environment.
