Impact of Communication Quality in Facilitating Citizen Participation in Urban Planning

Abstract

Urban planning procedures are difficult for individuals to understand due to their complexity, which stems from the large number of parties involved, the existence of legal and political processes, and the presence of bureaucracy. Despite towns' efforts to include more residents in shaping their communities, participation remains low, and citizens' involvement often occurs late in the design process, when changes are more difficult to implement. That is not because people are not interested; instead, it is because plans have not been conveyed well enough for people to understand the repercussions before it is too late to have an impact. Citizens' comprehension, involvement, and ownership of plan proposals may all benefit from more opportunities for public participation in the planning process. As an alternative to data based only on technical and statistical understanding, citizen engagement may augment analysis with useful information at a human level. In that regard, this study will investigate how towns might enhance communication quality by making information more readily available and presenting it in a style and tone that are more likely to encourage debate and collaboration among its constituents.