Citizen Participation in Planning: Climbing a Ladder?

Abstract

Certain levels of public access in the process of the statutory land-use planning have been part of Czech planning legislation since the 1970s, but actual citizen participation has become an issue in practice only during the last decade. Currently citizens have a say but their involvement seldom exceeds mere opposition towards active involvement. Their attempts to be heard in the decision-making process is perceived as a nuisance by developers and some local governments as well. Except for the opponents of specific project proposals, most people feel that involvement in the planning process is futile, having little comprehension of how urban and regional planning may actually influence their lives, their property and their local environment. The paper analyses the effects of the pre-1989 powerlessness on the recent changes in the planning process and it reviews the research and opinions of several scholars in this field. The formal planning process, which deals mostly with land use, is often felt to be too narrowly defined and too restrictive, with limited opportunities for citizen involvement. Strategic planning has been introduced by some municipalities in recent years as a less rigid, more flexible and potentially more participatory approach, but also here the trend that copied the accustomed patterns of statutory land-use planning prevailed in the end. Apart from the 'mainstream' planning, alternative, 'informal' planning has emerged, often supported from abroad and organized by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Although still marginal, it has introduced active planning by citizens. The absence of legal definition and guidance in the case of non-statutory planning allowed greater diversity in the planning method itself. After several years of this experience, however, it has primarily proven just how diverse the concept of citizen participation might be. On the basis of the analysis of the current diversification of planning methods, an attempt is made to draw some conclusions concerning the evolving process of citizen empowerment and participation in Czech planning, as well as to indicate patterns of the changes of the involvement process in the current stage of transformation.