Predicting Public Involvement in Urban Water Management and Planning

Abstract

A longitudinal study was conducted to assess the level of demand and the motivations for participating in urban water planning in three Australian cities. Three hundred and sixty people were interviewed in each city in relation to their attitudes toward water issues, their beliefs about representation, and their interests in personal involvement in water planning. At a later date respondents were invited to attend a workshop. Fifteen percent of those invited attended the workshops in each city. There was a relationship between "intentions" to participate and actual involvement. Unlike earlier studies there was no relationship between education, income, age, and participation. The major predictors of participation were perceived levels of desirable power for the water authority and intrinsic interest in particular water issues. The article concludes that there is a potentially strong demand for involvement in water-related planning and that there is a need to ensure that involvement is planned with methods appropriate to all sectors of the community.