Opening the black box of participatory planning: a study of how planners handle citizens’ input

Abstract

Citizen dialogues and other participatory practices are basically the norm in contemporary spatial planning. Nonetheless, what happens to citizen input after it has been collectedhow it is handled and utilized by planners in the continuation of the planning processhas been described as a 'black box', where most stakeholders lack insight. The aim of this explorative study is to open this black box and examine how citizen input is handled by local planning professionals. This practice lacks a common language and form among the studied municipalities, but the analysis reveals that it takes the form of a 'sorting process' in which input is categorized, evaluated and structured in preparation for its integration into final plans. The paper outlines the basic logics and considerations that guide this sorting process, and distinguishes between two modes, which have been termed 'inclusive' and 'selective' sorting. These modes determine how input is categorized and assessed. The analysis indicates that multiple micro-decisions are made throughout the sorting process, and that these decisions influence the input that reaches formal decision-making bodies, and in what form. The results reveal the power exercised by municipal planning actors and how they affect the destiny of the received citizen input.

Actors, arenas and aims: A conceptual framework for public participation

“…This is important, as Voorberg et al (2015) in their review of co-production processes with citizens, point out that there is an evident lack of attention and thus empirical data on tangible outcomes of co-production. Eriksson et al (2021) confirm, that there is little research about what happens to people's input after the participatory event.…”

The University and the Neighbourhood—Opportunities and Limits in Promoting Social Innovation: The Case of AuroraLAB in Turin (Italy)

“…Parallel to these discourses on collaborative governance and social innovation, the academic literature has, not surprisingly, also highlighted the emergence of several types of intermediary actors capable of accompanying these processes [31,33,35]. If, on the one hand, this is opening up a new age of "consultocracy" for the private sector in accompanying collaborative processes, on the other hand, this also raises new questions about the possible positioning of university institutions within these ecosystems of actors revolving around social innovation and related policies and practices.…”

“…It is no coincidence that Sandercock [30] calls for an "epistemology of multiplicity" that draws on a variety of actors and their respective knowledge. This invites a move from a monolithic view of knowledge as essentially expert toward a more multi-layered and enlarged conceptualisation of knowledge, which also takes into account non-expert expertise and the contribution it can provide to urban wellbeing [31].…”

Participatory Mapping of Holistic Youth Well-Being: A Mixed Methods Study

“…Participatory planning has become an institutionalized method for integrating public participation into urban planning in many parts of the world [8,9]. As an approach intended to democratize planning decisions, participatory planning strives to integrate diverse forms of knowledge by involving various stakeholders (i.e., elected officials, city planners, residents, and experts) in decision-making processes [8,10,11].…”

“…Participatory planning has become an institutionalized method for integrating public participation into urban planning in many parts of the world [8,9]. As an approach intended to democratize planning decisions, participatory planning strives to integrate diverse forms of knowledge by involving various stakeholders (i.e., elected officials, city planners, residents, and experts) in decision-making processes [8,10,11]. The institutionalization of participatory planning is emphasized in the United Nations' SDGs, which call on nations to "Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable" [1] (Goal 11), specifically working to "enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated, and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries" [1] (Target 11.3).…”