It takes two to tango: politician–planner collaboration in digital planning

This study explores collaboration between politicians and planners in strategic planning and examines how digital tools, such as digital twins, influence this interaction. Based on semi-structured interviews and observations from a digital twin workshop in the Ålesund region, findings reveal a clear separation between the two groups, reflecting their roles as distinct communities in strategic planning. While digital tools can enhance communication, they also risk deepening the ‘black box’ by reinforcing expert dominance and reducing transparency in knowledge production. We argue that collaborative planning must incorporate these digital realities to enable a new era of digital collaborative planning.