Public participation has gradually emerged in urban planning since 1960’s. China has
introduced public participation concept in urban planning practices for over 20 years. The
purpose of public participation is to change the pattern of elite planning, ensure the public
benefits and democratic rights, improve the feasibility and practicability of the planning
schemes together with the democracy in the planning decision making process.
The approach of planning should be shifted from top‐down to bottom‐up approach to make
planning process more inclusive, comprehensive, and sustainable. Greater public acceptability
is desirable, to ensure that plans are relevant. People can participate in the development process
in the following realms:
- Pre‐plan participation in decision making in vision development, for identification of
development priorities.
- Post‐plan participation before finalization and implementation of development
programmes and priorities.
- Participation during implementation and evaluation of development programmes and
project.
- Participation and sharing the benefits of development, managing the assets etc.
- e‐Platform and crowd sourcing are coming up as new modes of obtaining feedback
speedily.
Taking into account the interest, attitude and behaviour of the people, role of urban
development professionals and obligations of local authority, a system of participatory plan
approach has been suggested.
The suggested indirect participation of the people is ensured through elected representatives in
the Municipal Council / Corporation and Ward committees. The direct participation can be
through individuals, citizens, neighbourhood, business, consumer and other such groups. There
are several mechanisms and avenues for people’s participation available today, few of these
have been presented below. Such mechanisms and avenues can be used to bring wider and
more interactive participation of public in planning and developmental process.
Participatory planning approach
1) Community Design Characteristics
It is a multiple day interactive meetings, workshops and site walks/visits that fosters diverse
and community sourced ideas.
2) Advisory Committees
Committees made up of representatives guide planning efforts over an extended period of time
while regularly meeting during the planning process.
3) Low cost Demonstrations and Transformations
Use of blocks and day to day objects to create a low cost model of proposals for visual
understanding. Relatively inexpensive temporary transformations are made to test the project
and experience changes.4) Focus Groups
Allow small groups of stakeholders to provide their knowledge of a project area and discuss
their concerns and issues with local authority staff, planning consultants etc.
5) Other
Citizens report card, participatory mapping and participatory budgeting etc.
People can make contributions to the planning process at the implementation stage only if they
are presented with a well-articulated and feasible framework of approaches, objectives,
alternatives, etc. The participation of the people in local development programme provides the
best guarantee that adequate action will be taken in the area itself. Public participation also
creates an awareness of the problem and possible solutions among the people and thereby equip
them as citizens to exercise choices relevant to development in a rational manner. When such
a participation is institutionalized a stable base is created for decentralized exercise of power
both on territorial as well as functional bases.
People's participation has acquired greater significance in a country like ours which is striving
hard since independence to bring an overall socio-economic change through democratic processes. Community development and Panchayati Raj were aimed at securing people's
participation in the planning and execution of the programme as a vital aspect of community
development. To expand the democratic basis of development policies and administrative
actions public cooperation has assumed great significance. Public cooperation is sought in
almost each phase of governance and the entire multifaceted development of the people m the
various fields, viz., social, economic, educational, cultural and moral. Involvement and sharing
of the people in the process of development, particularly m decision making, planning and
implementation is in the interest of good government and good administration.
In a democratic society participation gives the ordinary citizen a means of voicing his opinion
and of showing by his behaviour and action that he is able to take on responsibilities. It gives
the ordinary citizen a chance to show his willingness to carry out constructive public work and
to demonstrate his good citizenship by other means than periodically exercising his right to
vote. Participation involves a factor of determination on the part of the person participating. It
is in the sense participation means self-motion. People's participation or involvement can be
better understood in four senses:
- Participation in decision making
- Participation m implementation of development programme and projects
- Participation m monitoring and evaluation of development programmes and projects
- Participation in sharing the benefits of development principles
Public participation is the involvement of people in the creation and management of their built
and natural environments. Its strength is that it cuts across tradition professional boundaries
and cultures. The activity of community participation is based on the principle that the built
and natural environments work better if citizens are active and involved in its creation and
management instead of being treated as passive consumers. The main purposes of participation
are;
- To involve citizens in planning and design decision making processes and, as a result,
make it more likely they will work within established systems when seeking solutions
to problems
- To provide citizens with a voice in planning and decision making in order to improve
plans, decisions, service delivery and overall quality of the environment
- To promote a sense of community by bringing together people who share common
goals
Participation should be active and directed, those who become involved should experience a
sense of achievement. Traditional planning procedures should be re-examined to ensure that
participation achieves more than a simple affirmation of the designers or planners intentions.
