Public Participation In Decision-making Research Articles

8. Western Europe

As Austria again faced early elections in October, new developments in environmental law and policy remained limited. The revision of the Green Electricity Act and the Waste Management Act stands out, the transposition of the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) continued at the state level, and the expansion of the Vienna airport was finally approved after years of back-and-forth negotiations. Glyphosate was almost banned in Austria, and the people’s climate protection petition was opened for signature this year. The new coalition government program remains committed to the Paris Agreement on climate change. With a view to the energy transition, specific expansion targets for renewable energy sources were defined: eleven terrawatt hours for photovoltaics; ten terrawatt hours for wind; five terrawatt hours for water; and one terrawatt hour for biomass. Other envisaged measures include the creation of a...

Municipal Courts and Environmental Justice in South African Local Government

Environmental injustice is part and parcel of the fundamentals of international and domestic environmental law. In South Africa, section 2(4)(c) of the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 (NEMA) establishes environmental justice (EJ) as part of the environmental management principles to direct decision-making. This is particularly relevant because of the country’s legacy of continuing environmental injustices and inequalities, especially concerning natural-resource dependent services and benefits. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 further establishes a developmental local government (DLG) of which the objects are to ensure a safe and healthy environment, sustainable delivery of services, promotion of social and economic development as well as public participation in decision-making. These objects are complemented by section 24 environmental right in the Bill of Rights. 
 Municipal service delivery of water and sanitation, electricity, land matters and municipal health, should supplement, not compromise the state of local communities' environment and access should be equal. The absence of the latter may result in the form of environmental injustice as has been described by authors such as Bullard, McDonald and Schlosberg. In the event of service delivery-related environmental injustices, it is to be expected that communities must have remedial options available. One of which may be accessible to the judicial system. 
 Therefore, this paper focuses on and explains the role that Municipal Courts specifically may play in fortifying the relationship between municipal service delivery and improved grass-root level environmental justice in South Africa. The underlying question is whether such courts can be agents of (environmental) change where local communities are exposed to environmental harm as a consequence of the failure of municipal services or the environmentally harmful actions of other community members or local industries.

“Unlocking Legal Gridlock in High-Income Countries: How Excessive Litigation Hampers Growth and Harms Democracy”

Abstract The paper focuses on rules of standing in the context of environmental law. With the implementation of the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making, and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) in European law, interest groups have become major players in the enforcement of environmental regulations. Although such interest groups can help to reduce enforcement deficits, their involvements create the risk of regulatory gridlock, with excessive litigation lengthening approval processes which can discourage investment in public and private infrastructure. The paper discusses the implementation of the Aarhus Convention in Germany, highlights ways to overcome administrative gridlock and facilitate effective approval procedures. If implemented, these strategies will enable Germany’s economy to remain competitive, supporting the maintenance of the country’s high standard of living and strong welfare state.

Public participation in crisis policymaking. How 30,000 Dutch citizens advised their government on relaxing COVID-19 lockdown measures.

Following the outbreak of COVID-19, governments took unprecedented measures to curb the spread of the virus. Public participation in decisions regarding (the relaxation of) these measures has been notably absent, despite being recommended in the literature. Here, as one of the exceptions, we report the results of 30,000 citizens advising the government on eight different possibilities for relaxing lockdown measures in the Netherlands. By making use of the novel method Participatory Value Evaluation (PVE), participants were asked to recommend which out of the eight options they prefer to be relaxed. Participants received information regarding the societal impacts of each relaxation option, such as the impact of the option on the healthcare system. The results of the PVE informed policymakers about people’s preferences regarding (the impacts of) the relaxation options. For instance, we established that participants assign an equal value to a reduction of 100 deaths among citizens younger than 70 years and a reduction of 168 deaths among citizens older than 70 years. We show how these preferences can be used to rank options in terms of desirability. Citizens advised to relax lockdown measures, but not to the point at which the healthcare system becomes heavily overloaded. We found wide support for prioritising the re-opening of contact professions. Conversely, participants disfavoured options to relax restrictions for specific groups of citizens as they found it important that decisions lead to “unity” and not to “division”. 80% of the participants state that PVE is a good method to let citizens participate in government decision-making on relaxing lockdown measures. Participants felt that they could express a nuanced opinion, communicate arguments, and appreciated the opportunity to evaluate relaxation options in comparison to each other while being informed about the consequences of each option. This increased their awareness of the dilemmas the government faces.

Does artistic activism change anything? Strategic and transformative effects of arts in anti-coal struggles in Oakland, CA

Mushrooming opposition to coal mining and transportation in the United States (US) connects with both environmental justice and climate justice movements. Artistic expressions are part of the strategic toolkit of these movements. Art’s capacity to foster cultural, cognitive and psychological changes is amply recognized by academics as well as by public in general. Nevertheless, the theoretical question of how art is linked to activist strategies and to socio-spatial transformations in environmental conflicts remains unexplored. This paper contributes to filling this gap by examining the emblematic struggle to stop the construction of a coal-export terminal in Oakland, CA. Our data includes 32 in-depth interviews of activists, artists and legal experts linked to the conflict surrounding this coal-export terminal. Non-participant observation and secondary data collection helped to contextualize the interviews. The results offer a timeline of the movement, a map of artistic expressions, and network analyses around the effects of environmental artistic activism. We demonstrate that creative activism has critical relevance for facilitating engagement, education and outreach of the anti- coal movement. Arts and its spatial impact benefited the movement by expanding its scale and making it more inclusive regarding demographics, including particularly women and youth of color. The use of the arts raised environmental and political awareness and enhanced public participation in decision making. The paper connects the literatures of environmental justice, environmental humanities and human geography. We contribute to the yet underdeveloped dialogue discussing the capacity of art to influence socio-ecological structures and socio-spatial dynamics in cases of environmental justice conflict.

The role of communication in the political and administrative management of national projects in the Yaroslavl region

The article deals with the main aspects of political and administrative management at the present stage. The main components, a common goal and management methods are synthesized. Elements that do not have institutional consolidation, as well as elements that form the organizational structure of management, are identified. The main tasks of state authorities in the context of constitutional innovations are considered. The main tools of the country's development as a legal democratic social state are considered. The forms of involvement of civil society and organizations in management are structured, which allow achieving a balance of public and individual interests. Aspects of the formation of requirements for indicators of national projects, as well as the modern system of management and implementation of national projects, including trends in the implementation of national projects in the region, are considered. The role of communication in management in achieving the country's strategic development goals and managing national projects in the Yaroslavl region in particular is established. The analysis of communication links in the Yaroslavl region, noted the increasing cooperation and understanding within the nonprofit sector the nonprofit sector. An expert assessment of public control was obtained. The directions and causes of civil activity are analyzed. The main expectations of the "third sector" from the system of authorities are formulated, the role of the interactive Internet in the procedures of public participation in decision-making by authorities is established. Specific proposals are formulated to ensure the transparency of processes that establish feedback between citizens and the state, and the most effective elements in the political and administrative management of national projects in the region are considered.

Účast veřejnosti na rozhodovacích procesech v rámci ochrany životního prostředí – obecný rozbor institutu

Public participation in decision-making processes is an important tool for environmental protection, whether we look at it from the point of view of everyone’s right to a favourable environment or as a separate value that needs to be protected for itself. Despite its recognition at the international level, obligations arising for the Czech Republic from the Aarhus Convention and EU law and a number of benefits that come with it, the possibilities of the members of the public in the Czech Republic to participate in environmental decision-making has been significantly reduced in recent years. The reason seems to be, among other things, insufficient awareness or underestimation of the benefits of this institute. The article therefore focuses on summarizing the benefits associated with public participation in decision-making, the risks to be avoided and the typology of forms of public participation and that in order to contribute to a deeper understanding of this institute.

The Aarhus Convention and Polish Regulations Concerning Parties to Proceedings for Issuing the eia Decisions

Abstract The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters was adopted on 25 June 1998 in the Danish city of Aarhus. According to its provisions each state Part shall, within the framework of the national legal order, ensure that members of the public concerned have access to a review procedure before a court of law or another independent and impartial body established by law. At the same time, it contains regulations specifying the criteria that constitute the basis for determining persons enjoying rights to access justice with respect to national legal orders. Poland, being one of the state Parties, introduced into national legal order special provisions enabling implementation of the Aarhus Convention, including regulations concerning parties to proceedings in environmental matters. The aim of the study is to analyse and assess these regulations in the light of the requirements adopted in the Aarhus Convention and to formulate general conclusions in the field of key issues of the international and European environmental law and policy.

Implementation of international environmental standards in Russia (in terms of the provisions of the 1998 Aarhus Convention)

The study analyzes the prospects for Russia’s ratification of the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (1998). The analysis of federal legislation in the field of ecology is carried out.The emphasis is on the provisions that regulate the rights of citizens to access official information on the state of the environment, to participate in the discussion of environmental programs and projects; the right to judicial review of actions of authorities that violate such rights. On the example of the city of Moscow - a subject of the Russian Federation, the official electronic services and resources are shown that allow you to receive information about the state of the environment in real time. Such electronic resources have been created by the Moscow City Government and are available on all social networks. Based on the results of the study, the conclusion is substantiated that the existing legislation in Russia and the practice of its application generally comply with the standards of the Aarhus Convention. Its ratification will allow Russia to reach a qualitatively new level of international environmental standards.

Involving Citizens through Walking: Urban Walks as a Tool for Awareness Raising in Historic Built Areas

Public participation in decision making is a hot topic for spatial planning for many decades. Since 2001, the Aarhus Convention is granting, among others, the public rights for public participation. However, as Arnstein already in 1969 wrote, there are many levels of participation and ever since the publication of her paper scholars as well as practitioners are deliberating various levels and a multitude of tools of how to involve the public, in what stage, up to what depth to make it as effective and efficient as the situation allows. Urban walks present one of the methods of stakeholder involvement in which participants, usually local citizens, are guided through a walk in the site with experts explaining their ideas and collecting remarks from the participants. They offer an opportunity for community engagement and informal discussion on various topics in the decision-making processes, to witness successful examples and innovative tools. They are one of the most appropriate ways for awareness rising among the general public, as they offer in-situ exploration together with face-to-face discussions with professionals who are guiding the walk. The paper examines two case studies of urban walks. Firstly, a set of 8 urban walks taking place within the INTERREG-Central Europe BhENEFIT project aimed at raising awareness and building capacities in the field of sustainable management of historic built areas. Altogether, there were 148 participants in these events, and at the end of the urban walks, they filled in the feedback forms. Responsible partners also prepared detailed reports about all of these events and, together with feedback forms, these are analysed and the results are presented within this paper. Secondly, the paper uses a case study from Rome (Italy) within the Jane’s Walk International Festival presented at the III Biennial of Public Space. The method of urban walks had been selected as a proper way to involve citizens in the project, to help disseminate the project results and make the citizens a part of the decision making in historic built areas in the project pilot sites. The results from the analysed reports give evidence supporting the effectiveness of this method. The paper further on discusses different forms of public involvement for future events and ways how to include the public in the decision-making processes.

Public participation in decision making, perceived procedural fairness and public acceptability of renewable energy projects

Public participation in decision making has been widely advocated by scholars and practitioners as a remedy for public resistance against sustainable energy projects. Yet, it is unclear via which processes public participation in decision making may affect public acceptability of energy projects. We hypothesize that public participation in decision making is likely to increase project acceptability when it enhances perceived procedural fairness. Moreover, we hypothesize that perceived procedural fairness is higher when people can participate and influence major rather than only minor aspects of the project. We conducted three experimental studies in the Netherlands to test these hypotheses, with renewable energy projects as a case in point. As expected, public participation in decision making increased perceived procedural fairness, particularly when people could influence major aspects of the project. In turn, higher perceived procedural fairness enhanced public acceptability of the projects. Interestingly, when controlling for perceived procedural fairness, public participation in decision making had no effect (Study 2) and even a negative effect (Study 1 and 3) on project acceptability, particularly when people could influence major aspects. We conclude that public participation in decision making can enhance project acceptability if people can influence major aspects and perceive the decision making as fair. Next, our findings point out that there may be other processes instigated by public participation in decision making that can influence project acceptability. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings.

Organizational Structure and Its Influence on Decision-Making

This research aimed, through a bibliometric analysis, to generate a Bibliographic Portfolio of articles submitted for aligning organizational matters and taking public administration. National and international literature was used in order to contribute and facilitate the investigation of future research on the related theme. For the analysis, the Proknow-C methodology was used, with a publication time limit of 20 years, from 1999 to 2019, using Scopus, Web of Science and Spell as databases. A research resulted in the construction of a portfolio containing 4 research articles that shown alignment with the topic. Two articles aimed to build models to optimize management decision making in the complex environment of applicable technologies and resources, while the other articles analyze the decision making process, one article related to structured ethical decision and the other to public participation in decision making in four different countries. The content of the Bibliographic Portfolio allows a direction for future research, allowing the development of theoretical bases on the articles that stood out in the research.

Economia compartilhada e governança pública

Resumo O termo economia compartilhada é empregado na literatura especializada para identificar a forma como a internet, os smartphones e os aplicativos estão modificando a dinâmica econômica mundial. Este artigo apresenta uma pesquisa documental realizada para identificar os aplicativos de compartilhamento que surgiram nas últimas décadas e o modo como estão contribuindo para a melhoria da gestão pública local. Utilizou-se a análise descritiva dos dados e uma regressão para caracterizar a adesão às novas tecnologias pelos governos locais e para identificar o modo como afetam o desempenho fiscal dos municípios, mensurado a partir do Índice FIRJAN de Gestão Fiscal (IFGF). Os resultados obtidos mostram que os aplicativos de economia compartilhada podem contribuir de diferentes formas, com destaque para: a maior cooperação e coordenação intra e entre governos locais, redução na subutilização de ativos, maior acesso e melhoria na qualidade dos serviços públicos, e maior interação e participação dos cidadãos nas decisões públicas. A regressão estimada mostra que o emprego das novas tecnologias de comunicação contribui para a melhoria no desempenho fiscal dos municípios. Contudo, essas tecnologias são pouco utilizadas, sendo necessárias iniciativas que estimulem a utilização de aplicativos de compartilhamento nas gestões públicas locais.

Depressed democracy, environmental injustice: Exploring the negative mental health implications of unconventional oil and gas production in the United States

Unconventional oil and gas (UOG) production has rapidly expanded, making the U.S. the top producer of hydrocarbons. The industrial process now pushes against neighborhoods, schools, and people’s daily lives. I analyze extensive mixed methods data collected over three years in Colorado – including 75 in-depth interviews and additional participant observation – to show how living amid industrial UOG production generates chronic stress and negative mental health outcomes, such as self-reported depression. I show how UOG production has become a neighborhood industrial activity that, in turn, acts as a chronic environmental stressor. I examine two key drivers of chronic stress – uncertainty and powerlessness – and show how these mechanisms relate to state-level institutional processes that generate patterned procedural inequities. This includes inadequate access to transparent environmental and public health information about UOG production’s potential risks and limited public participation in decisions about production, with negative implications for mental health.

Applying mixed methods action research to explore how public participation in an Indian City could better resolve urban sustainability problems

Public participation in governance is regarded as a key element in enhancing urban sustainability. While there is a wealth of participation efforts in Indian cities, there are inadequate processes for regular, inclusive, egalitarian, informed and well-structured democratic participation that provide a real say to citizens in public decision-making. ‘Deliberative democracy’ has emerged as one way to improve effective public participation in decision-making, though it is mostly prevalent in developed countries. An action research initiative was implemented over several years in Pune, India. It used mixed methods to introduce and assess the applicability to the Indian urban context of high-quality public deliberations. This article presents a case study of a deliberative democracy initiative, framing the transformative public involvement needed to address sustainability problems. It also shows how the integration of the mixed methods approach in the action research to design and facilitate deliberative participation processes, helped to broaden and deepen understanding, and enhanced the transformative capacity of the research design.

Socio-spatial regeneration challenges in Attaba historic market, Cairo – Egypt

Purpose This paper aims to address socio-spatial challenges facing the sustainable regeneration of the 19th-century historic covered Attaba market. One of the few remaining historic market buildings in Cairo. Understanding these challenges is crucial as there is a pressing need for these buildings to be included in the national heritage regeneration policies that would foster their role as sustainable socio-economic urban nuclei within the city center. Design/methodology/approach The paper detects the socio-spatial transformation of the Attaba market through the comparison of archival material. This is supported by observations on the current socio-spatial aspects of the market including forms of interactions, conflicts and interventions of various user groups. A number of 30 semi-structured interviews with traders of the Attaba market were conducted inside the market, along with in-depth observations carried out between 2016 and 2018. Finally, information about local policies toward the market is obtained through interviews with local officials currently managing the market, namely, the Egyptian Endowment Authority and Cairo Governorate. Findings The findings reveal a lack of clear regeneration policy and a complete absence of public participation in decision-making. These factors erode the crucial role these markets play in revitalizing the city’s socio-economic strength and threaten their tangible and intangible values. Originality/value The paper focuses on one of the understudied building types that, however, represent key opportunities for the sustainable development of their contexts. The paper proposes a framework that can be applied to regenerate the Attaba market and its surroundings. When tested, the framework can be also adjusted and applied to the other historic covered markets in Cairo.

CHAT SA: Modification of a Public Engagement Tool for Priority Setting for a South African Rural Context

Background: Globally, as countries move towards universal health coverage (UHC), public participation in decisionmaking is particularly valuable to inform difficult decisions about priority setting and resource allocation. In South Africa (SA), which is moving towards UHC, public participation in decision-making is entrenched in policy documents yet practical applications are lacking. Engagement methods that are deliberative could be useful in ensuring the public participates in the priority setting process that is evidence-based, ethical, legitimate, sustainable and inclusive. Methods modified for the country context may be more relevant and effective. To prepare for such a deliberative process in SA, we aimed to modify a specific deliberative engagement tool – the CHAT (Choosing All Together) tool for use in a rural setting. Methods: Desktop review of published literature and policy documents, as well as 3 focus groups and modified Delphi method were conducted to identify health topics/issues and related interventions appropriate for a rural setting in SA. Our approach involved a high degree of community and policy-maker/expert participation. Qualitative data were analysed thematically. Cost information was drawn from various national sources and an existing actuarial model used in previous CHAT exercises was employed to create the board. Results: Based on the outcomes, 7 health topics/issues and related interventions specific for a rural context were identified and costed for inclusion. These include maternal, new-born and reproductive health; child health; woman and child abuse; HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB); lifestyle diseases; access; and malaria. There were variations in priorities between the 3 stakeholder groups, with community-based groups emphasizing issues of access. Violence against women and children and malaria were considered important in the rural context. Conclusion: The CHAT SA board reflects health topics/issues specific for a rural setting in SA and demonstrates some of the context-specific coverage decisions that will need to be made. Methodologies that include participatory principles are useful for the modification of engagement tools like CHAT and can be applied in different country contexts in order to ensure these tools are relevant and acceptable. This could in turn impact the success of the implementation, ultimately ensuring more effective priority setting approaches.

Participación ciudadana en la reglamentación administrativa en Estados Unidos y Puerto Rico: premisas y nuevos paradigmas

En los Estados Unidos de América y Puerto Rico la adopción de reglamentos administrativos provee entrega una oportunidad para que la ciudadanía participe en dichos procesos a través de la presentación de comentarios escritos en torno a propuestas de reglamentación. El trabajo discute justificaciones para lo anterior desde el punto de vista del Derecho Administrativo y lo trata como una moda- lidad de participación ciudadana en la toma de decisiones de asuntos públicos. Se consideran varias insatisfacciones que produce en su funcionamiento este me- canismo de comentarios escritos hasta llegar al cuestionamiento de si se trata del instrumento más adecuado y eficaz para propiciar y aprovechar esa participación. Ante las limitaciones que presenta la disciplina del Derecho Administrativo para contestar estas preguntas, se incorporan entonces criterios de análisis producto de investigaciones recientes sobre el tema de participación ciudadana. Al final se concluye con una reflexión de estos temas en el contexto de nuevos desarrollos en Estados Unidos donde se ha ampliado el alcance de la participación en procesos de reglamentación a través de una plataforma electrónica en internet.

Is National Government a Threat to Devolved System of Governance in Kenya?

This paper addresses the ways through which the national government of Kenya has proved to be a threat to devolution. Challenges emanating from national government actions are hampering the implementation of devolution. Devolution was intended to bring services closer to the people and promote public participation in decision-making. Transfer of functions from the national government to county governments and resource allocation to counties as provided for in the constitution 2010 is core to the implementation of devolution. Public participation permitted communities to manage their own affairs and further their development agenda. The minority and marginalized communities are recognized and protected through a devolved system of government as provided for in Article 174 of the constitution. The issue of inequality which was strongly practiced by the centralized system of governanceshouldbe addressed through devolution. There has been the development of national laws and policies other than devolution laws that were developed on the onset of the devolved system of governance. These laws affected the implementation of devolution. Budget Policy Statement according to the National Treasury (2013) is to accelerate economic growth by sustaining macroeconomic stability; focusing on economic policies and structural reforms; and deepening investment in critical economic infrastructure. The BPS is published under Section 25 of the Public Finance Management Act. However, the national budget policy statement is framed in a manner they encroach county functions mandates. Judiciary has the important role of giving effect to the constitutional provisions on devolution; however, the independence of the judiciary is threatened by political quarters affecting its function in the implementation of devolution. Commissions and independent offices whose collective responsibility to facilitate the achievement of devolution is impaired due to underfunding. Poor intergovernmental consultations are affecting devolution in the sense that plans to undertake Nairobi City County functions without due process and intergovernmental agreements are infringing on the Intergovernmental Relations Act, 2012. Above these challenges, the national government has enacted laws to reduce the power of independent institutions, direct intimidation, and incapacitation through budgetary cuts. DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/10-7-05 Publication date: July 31 st 2020

Європейські стандарти взаємодії органів публічної влади з інститутами громадянського суспільства

У статті проаналізовано стандарти співпраці влади і громадянського суспільства, визначено сутність, завдання і форми взаємодії органів влади та інститутів громадянського суспільства. 
 Висвітлено регламентуючі документи Європейського Союзу щодо взаємодії органів публічної влади та громадянського суспільства.
 Окреслено принципи та стандарти взаємодії влади та інститутів громадянського суспільства.
 Проаналізовано особливості, специфіку та умови ефективної взаємодії громадянського суспільства й органів публічної влади в країнах-членах ЄС.
 Показано що у більшості країн ЄС законодавство передбачає створення спеціальних органів, які діють на постійній основі, наприклад, консультативні органи з питань захисту прав споживачів та довкілля, охорони здоров’я за участю відповідних інститутів громадянського суспільства, що відіграють ключову роль у процесах прийняття рішень органами публічної влади у визначених їх компетенціями сферах.
 Встановлено, що ефективною моделлю взаємодії громадянського суспільства і органів публічної влади є співпраця за умов певного збігу інтересів та ціннісних установок окремих громадян і соціальних груп з органами публічної влади.