This topic pack is a resource for practitioners, students
and theorists of participatory planning, and provides an introduction
to the literature and contemporary thinking on this theme. It is divided
into four sections:
Section
One discusses ideas about citizenship,
participation, and governance. It traces the development of these concepts
and finds that the links between citizen participation and good governance
are growing stronger.
Section
Two looks at citizen participation
in local governance planning. It reviews the context of decentralisation,
and looks at planning as a 'negotiated social process' (de Roux 1998),
in which citizens and local government can interact and build partnerships,
though with obstacles and costs, particularly for citizens.
Section
Three, 'Making participatory planning
happen' deals with the practicalities of who participates, and how capacity
for participation can be built, both institutional (responsiveness,
transparency) and citizen (knowledge, action). It looks at methods for
building such capacity, and what citizens need to know in order to engage
successfully in local governance planning processes. This point is illustrated
by the case of the implementation of the Philippine Local Government
Code.
Section
Four contains references and resources,
in the form of an annotated bibliography with details of how to access
materials.
