Hearing but Not Listening? A Participatory Assessment of Public Participation in Planning

Elisabeth Conrad, Louis F Cassar, Mike Christie and Ioan Fazey
Additional contact information
Mike Christie: Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Penglais, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY23 3DA, Wales
Ioan Fazey: School of Geography and Geosciences, University of St. Andrews, Irvine Building, North Street, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9AL, Scotland

Environment and Planning C, 2011, vol. 29, issue 5, 761-782

Abstract: Whilst public participation is now accepted as an essential requirement of planning, there is limited literature which considers the effectiveness of participation in practice. In this study we focus on the perspectives of members of the public, and planners and policy makers in the island state of Malta, to identify (i) expectations of the participation process, (ii) the extent to which practices meet expectations, and (iii) ways in which participation practices could be rendered more effective. Five key areas of concern emerge: (a) lack of influence on decisions, (b) lack of professional ethics and expertise, (c) methods and techniques used, (d) the nature of information provision, and (e) local cultural influences. Results illustrate the inadequacy of present legal requirements for ensuring effective participation, and a related need for institutionalizing review mechanisms. Results also reveal tension between positivist views of planning as an expert discipline, and public expectations of democracy. Furthermore, the study provides wider insights into processes of assessment and evaluation.

Date: 2011
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1068/c10137 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:envirc:v:29:y:2011:i:5:p:761-782

DOI: 10.1068/c10137

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Environment and Planning C
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().