Participatory planning

It's a way for communities to work together to identify and address problems and to create a plan to achieve a desired socio-economic goal.

Consensus building and collective decision making is usually emphasized, and the inclusion of traditionally marginalized groups in the planning process is also often prioritized.

[8] These urban renewal programs have been criticized for destroying viable communities with long histories, and displacing disproportionately black and poor people to other underserved parts of the city.

In recent years, participatory planning has continued to evolve, leveraging digital technologies to enhance community engagement.

The integration of tools such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), virtual reality, and online platforms has made it easier for citizens to visualize planning proposals and provide feedback.

This digital shift has been particularly evident in projects like participatory budgeting initiatives in cities like Paris [18] [19]and New York, where technology facilitates broader and more inclusive participation.

[20]Additionally, contemporary urban planning increasingly focuses on sustainability and resilience, integrating participatory approaches to address climate change and disaster risk reduction.

Participatory Rural Appraisal draws heavily on the work of Paulo Freire and his idea of critical consciousness, as well as Kurt Lewin's integration of democratic leadership, group dynamics, experiential learning, action research, and open systems theory.

It has been described as "a socio-cultural, ethical and political practice which takes place offline and online in the overlapping phases of the planning and decision-making cycle, by using digital and non-digital tools".

[31] Participatory e-planning research has generally focused on incorporating forms of participation with existing governance and urban planning processes.

Some participatory e-planning programs involve the use of relatively simple digital tools like online questionnaires, surveys, and polls to consultant citizens.

[30] Other programs have used information and communications technologies that were designed for everyday use — such as mainstream social media — to seek out more widespread and open-ended public input.

Often, the public engages with planners through social media outlets even if their input is not directly solicited, indicating that e-planning has the potential to foster organic bottom-up participatory planning.

[32] Other participatory planning processes have used existing digital technologies like virtual reality,[33] and interactive games[34] to increase participation.

[35] These systems are diverse, applied in a wide range of contexts, and have incorporated different ways of asking for public participation, such as Participatory 3D Modelling.

[38][39] A range of scholars, theorists, and urban planners have suggested different theoretical models to emphasize citizen participation in the planning process.

Alexander argued that these models are easy to understand, but do not reflect the reality of cities, in which different systems and communities interact in complex and overlapping ways.

Scholars argued that non-hierarchical models of the city were too complex to be understood or designed through a centralized process, and so must rely on the input and perspectives of a wide range of people.

Responding to the persistent gap between the desires of local communities, and traditional rationalistic approaches to planning, Sherry Arnstein wrote her essay A Ladder of Citizen Participation in 1969 to "encourage a more enlightened dialogue".

She advocates that government projects and planning processes should involve the forms of citizen participation that she places higher on the ladder.

Transactive planning suggests that urban planners should engage in face-to-face conversation with members of the community who have immediate, experiential knowledge of their neighborhood.

[13] In transactive planning, this dialog is paired with collaborative action, in which planners and community members all engage in the design process.

[50] Participatory approaches and computerized tools like decision support systems (DSS) have been used to help balance these diverse priorities.