Evaluating the scalability of public participation in urban land use planning: A comparison of Geoweb methods with face-to-face meetings

Abstract

Two modes of participatory engagement in local land use planning are contrasted and compared: the asynchronous mode enabled by Geoweb applications for collecting and deliberating public preferences, and the same-place/same-time mode exemplified by public meetings. Using data from a public participation process that took place between June 2014 and July 2015 in Poznań, Poland, the article compares the scalability of each mode and evaluates it from the planners’ perspective. The findings show that Geoweb applications scale public participation more effectively than public meetings. The ability to attract a relatively large number of diverse participants contributed to the positive evaluation of participation outcomes by planners. The results of online participation have been reflected in the land use plan provisions and improved the transparency and access to planning documents. Several issues related to online participation including: bridging the educational gap, the digital divide, and focusing the attention of participants on a specific problem at hand remain still unresolved.

Access to ICT in Poland and the Co-Creation of Urban Space in the Process of Modern Social Participation in a Smart City—A Case Study

“…Public Participation GIS tools are increasingly used to promote e-participation in Poland and in the world. Surveys involving PPGIS tools enable the authorities to explore the opinions of local community members and implement real changes in urban management [55]. These tools can be applied in public consultations concerning the development and modification of local zoning plans, environmental impact reports, modernization of urban centers, the residents' opinions on new legal regulations, and the quality and availability of public transport [71].…”

“…Internet tools based on geoinformation systems create vast opportunities for social participation in spatial planning [55][56][57][58]. Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) are GIS tools where participatory research and planning play a central role.…”

“…Studies of urban space can benefit from public opinion surveys which provide valuable information about community members who represent different environments, attitudes, and viewpoints. In recent years, PPGIS tools have been implemented in Scandinavian, American, Canadian, British, and Polish cities [55][56][57][65][66][67][68]].…”

Legal and Organizational Framework for the use of Geoweb Methods for Public Participation in Spatial Planning in Poland: Experiences, Opinions and Challenges

“…The methods used in the analysis of case studies involving the applications of geo-questionnaire and geo-discussion (Jankowski et al 2016(Jankowski et al , 2017(Jankowski et al , 2018 included: (1) qualitative analysis of case studies, (2) interviews with urban planners and local authorities, and (3) legal acts analysis.…”

“…The goal of the paper is to present legal and organizational framework for the implementation of two specific Geoweb methods -geo-questionnaire and geo-discussion developed by Jankowski et al (2016Jankowski et al ( , 2017Jankowski et al ( , 2018 -in spatial planning in Poland, as well as opinions of urban planners and local authorities on the use of tools in public consultations. The applicability of Geoweb methods for the planning procedures in the city of Łódź and in Poznań agglomeration, Poland is examined on the bases of six case studies including four implementations of geo-questionnaire and two of geo-discussion.…”