Inch, Andy2017-01-312017-01-312017-01-18Accepted version of: Inch, A. (2017). ‘Opening for business’? Neoliberalism and the cultural politics of modernising planning in Scotland, Urban Studies. First Published January 18, 2017, DOI: 10.1177/0042098016684731, 1-170042-09801360-063Xhttp://hdl.handle.net/10451/26355In this paper I explore how the culture of land-use planning in Scotland has been targeted as an object of modernising reform, exploring how ‘culture change’ initiatives played a prominent role in stabilising a new settlement around ‘open for business’ planning between 2006 and 2012, con- taining potential tensions between diverse goals to make planning more efficient, inclusive and integrative. This highlights the potentially significant role of governance cultures in containing ten- sions and securing consent to processes of state restructuring. I therefore argue that greater empirical attentiveness to the cultural micro-politics of state restructuring can improve under- standing of complex, contemporary dynamics of change, and the contested role of the neoliberal hegemonic project in reshaping urban governance. I conclude by arguing that the continued power of neoliberal critiques of the inefficiency of land-use planning indicate a need to acknowl- edge and engage contemporary cultural battles over the purposes of planning and urban governance.engNeoliberalismPlanning culturesPlanning reformScotlandjournal article10.1177/0042098016684731