Despite decades of debate, participatory planning continues to be contested. More recently, research has documented a relationship between participation and neoliberalism, in which participation works as a post-political toola means to depoliticize planning and legitimize neo-liberal policy-making. This paper argues that such accounts lack attention to the opportunities for opposing neo-liberal planning that may be inherent within participatory processes. In order to further an understanding of

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... the workings of resistance within planning, it suggests the notion of insurgent participationa mode of contentious intervention in participatory approaches. It develops this concept through the analysis of various participatory approaches launched to regenerate the former airport Berlin-Tempelhof. A critical reading of participation in Tempelhof reveals a contradictory process. Although participatory methods worked to mobilize support for predefined agendas, their insurgent participation also allowed participants to criticize and shape the possibilities of engagement, challenge planning approaches and envision alternatives to capitalist imperatives.