Citizen participation

Citizen participation

Citizen participation in urban development activities

Citizen participation[1] in community decision making is widely accepted to be necessary in community development, tracing back to classical principles of democracy, such as deriving from Plato's thought. Basically, citizen volunteering and involvement are considered to balance and control political decisions, and result in decisions more beneficial to citizens and increased public acceptance. In security research, citizens have recently come to be regarded as the ultimate end-users of security solutions and technologies, and thus not as addressees of security measures, but as an essential group of stakeholders that should be involved in related planning processes.

Types of citizen participation for use in urban planning consultation processes.

Type of participation	Concept
Information	Citizens are informed about their rights, responsibilities and options One-way communication, even if the information is provided at the request of stakeholders Does not involve channels to provide feedback or enter into negotiations Information is provided through channels that are accessible to all members of the community
Consultation	Two-way communication, where stakeholders have an opportunity to voice suggestions and concerns Does not offer any assurance that stakeholders’ ideas and opinions will be used at all or as they intended Usually conducted through meetings chaired by a person representing various levels of government or their bodies
Consensus building	Stakeholders interaction in order to understand each other and arrive at negotiated positions that are acceptable for the whole group However, vulnerable individuals and groups often tend to remain silent or passively agree to negotiated solutions Strategies should be employed to ensure that the opinions of men and women are equally considered, especially in this phase
Decision-making	An expression of both power and responsibilities for outcomes that may result Negotiations at this stage reflect the different degrees of commitment exercised by individuals and groups
Risk-sharing	Collective actions result in a mix of beneficial, harmful and neutral consequences that are equally shared by all partners Accountability is fundamental at this stage
Partnership	Sharing among stakeholders with similar, equal status and towards a common goal
Self-management	Highest level of participatory efforts Stakeholders take full responsibility for projects that affect them directly and are willing to learn how to conduct the process from beginning to end

An example of a practical method for citizen participation in urban planning is the experimental participation method.

Links and further information

• For research, education, training and consultancy in the field of public participation see the Centre for Citizen Participation (CCP) [2012-10-23].
• For general information see International Association for Public Participation.

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