Arnstein's ladder of citizen participation revisited: 50 years on, what have we learned?

Katinka Johansen and Paul Upham

Chapter 5 in The Social Acceptance of Renewable Energy Projects, 2026, pp 104-121 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: In 1969, Sherry Arnstein introduced her internationally renowned ladder of citizen participation, intended to guide and address public agency interaction with citizens. Still widely relevant, the ladder sets out a hierarchy of forms and levels of interaction, with the ideal of citizen control at the top. This chapter discusses some of the constraints on realising the upper levels of Arnstein's framework in the context of renewable energy (RE) siting. Drawing on the RE siting literature, and with reference to a case study of Danish nearshore wind farm protest, the chapter makes practical recommendations for working within these constraints, while still accounting for Arnstein's ideals. In the latter part of the chapter, we discuss the use of digital technologies as mediators of public engagement. In the spirit of the chapter, we argue that while these possibilities may be helpful, they cannot in general resolve the challenges to achieving ideal degrees of participation.

Keywords: Citizen participation; Renewable energy siting; Public engagement; Environmental justice; Wind farm opposition; Governance and planning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035348749
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