Abstract
Citizen participation is obligated in municipal planning but is often criticized because of its inadequate implementation. To increase the usefulness of citizen participation and the involvement of underrepresented groups, online participatory tools (OPTs) have attracted attention, in particular, on topics related to climate change. Although many OPTs have been developed and are becoming more widely used, assessments of their usefulness in real-world planning remain scarce. This study aimed to disentangle prospects and pitfalls of this still novel way of practicing citizen dialogue. Specifically, we apply criteria derived from related literatures to assess a mainstreamed OPT in Norrköping, Sweden. The CityPlanner™ tool was discussed with citizens and planners using focus group methodology and semi-structured individual interviews. Moreover, citizen contributions in four applications of the OPT were analyzed. The results reveal that the biggest challenges for citizen dialogues on planning in general and on climate change, in particular, appear not mainly rooted in the technical functions of the OPT. Rather, problems lie in (i) the lack of municipal strategy for citizen participation and in applying OPTs, (ii) a disparagement in citizens’ abilities to contribute to forming robust and sustainable cities, and (iii) in diverging views about the role of citizen contributions. This is reflected in how the OPT is used. While the examined OPT shows potential, the results indicate that visualized contexts for planning might be too scant to be entirely meaningful, and it lacks mechanisms for feedback. Not using the full potential of the OPT makes citizens less engaged and risks to adversely affect learning and citizens’ contributions to solving complex issues.
Highlights
Citizen involvement in planning can strengthen local democracy by involving marginalized groups, enhance learning, improve planning by clarifying the context, wishes and ideas for local development, and increase the chance of implementation of plan proposals by aligning it with citizens’ perspectives [1,2]
This includes how the Online Participatory Tools (OPTs) has been implemented in planning processes in Norrköping, how familiar and informed planners and citizens are with the OPT, and how the interviewees perceive the relevance of the OPT for citizen participation
This study set out to analyze how a widely adopted OPT is perceived by citizens and planners as a means for participatory planning intervention and as medium for citizen dialogue on climate change, to detangle some of the pitfalls and prospects of this still novel way of practicing citizen dialogues
Summary
Citizen involvement in planning can strengthen local democracy by involving marginalized groups, enhance learning, improve planning by clarifying the context, wishes and ideas for local development, and increase the chance of implementation of plan proposals by aligning it with citizens’ perspectives [1,2]. Conventional practices on and methods for citizen participation are described as often excluding, inadequate, ill-timed and instrumental [3,4]. This makes it hard to engage groups beyond “the usual suspects” and to get useful feedback on issues at hand [5]. To spur citizens to engage in urban planning and decision-making, on issues related to climate change, Online Participatory Tools (OPTs) are an often stressed panacea for citizen inclusion, which has gained interest by, e.g., policy-makers and scientists during the last decade [7,8]. Deemed promising, their impacts in planning have yet been modest [9]
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