Citizen-led, comprehensive land use planning in New York’s Adirondack Park

Abstract

New York’s Adirondack Park is the largest protected area within the Northern Appalachian/Acadian Eco-Region and the contiguous United States. Almost half of the 6 million acres encompassed by the Park boundary is privately owned, where 80% of land use decisions fall to local governments. The Adirondack Town of Willsboro, New York, was the focus of a Participatory Action Research (PAR) study. From 2007 to 2011, a single subject case, mixed methods study was conducted within the regional–local land use planning framework of the Adirondack Park Agency Act. PAR methodology used quantitative and qualitative data to answer four research questions. The research evaluated the role of PAR in helping to transform conventional land use planning practice into a more democratic, environmentally conscious, and durable civic responsibility. Findings of the research indicate that when citizens increase their scientific and ecological literacy utilising a PAR framework, citizens’ confidence in land use decision-making is improved. PAR holds great promise as a methodological framework to bring together ecologically focussed, citizen-led, collaborative land use planning. A comprehensive plan can reflect an emergent process where the primacy of community, self-determination, and consensus-building yields recognition of the link between, and sanctity of, nature, home, and homeland.