Aboriginal Participation in Environment Planning

The efforts to involve Aboriginal people in the development of a management plan for a newly created World Heritage Area (WHA) in northern Queensland are examined. Although the management agency expended considerable effort to encourage the participation of local Aboriginal people the program was flawed and served to marginalise some Aboriginal groups from the management of their traditional lands. The management agency failed to understand the nature of contemporary and traditional Aboriginal social organisation. Insensitivity to the diverse nature of Aboriginal social organisation, and ignorance of the complexity of Aboriginal representation, rendered the interests of some groups with traditional interests invisible to the management agency. Because the management agency uncritically accepted the claims to a mandate for regional representation by one Aboriginal lobby group, this group was able to assume a dominant position in liaising with the management agency.     

Citizen Participation and Government Choice in Local Environmental Controversies

This article uses a single, critical case to assess the plausibility of hypotheses that emerge from the literature on civic environmentalism. In particular, scholars have argued that local, collaborative environmental decision making is likely to yield solutions that are both more durable and environmentally superior to those generated by more conventional policymahing processes. The analysis suggests, however, that such outcomes are unlikely in the absence of stringent regulatory requirements established at the federal or state level. This is because local officials face fiscal constraints that exacerbate the already substantial disparity in political resources between citizens and development interests.     

Ecology and Participation in Landscape-Based Planning Within the Pacific Northwest

Landscape-based planning, and in particular ecosystem management, has been promoted widely as an approach to linking ecological, social, and economic concerns at large spatial and temporal scales, yet there have been few comparative studies of actual projects. We used a mailed questionnaire and four case studies within the Pacific Northwest region of the United States to explore the ways in which ecological analyses are being integrated with landscape planning projects and to identify linkages between science and public involvement. Specifically, we wanted to learn: (a) what types of ecological science are being used in landscape-based planning projects, (b) what factors most limit the application of ecological analyses to land planning processes, (c) how ecological information and analyses are being integrated with stakeholder participation, and (d) what appear to be the key strategies for developing productive links between ecological science and public involvement. Results from the questionnaire show the ecologichl complexities of attempting to manage large landscapes, exemplified by the broad array of ecological issues and stressors that projects attempt to address, the high degree to which they are attempting to analyze them scientifically, and the wide array of assessments and analytical techniques they are using to do so. While both public involvement and scientific research generally had strong influences on planning and management decisions, there appeared to be less effective exchanges between researchers and stakeholders. Based on the case studies, we identified key strategies for strengthening the links between ecological science and public involvement in three principal areas: ecosystem analysis, linking science to the public via community outreach and education, and employing economic development as an ecosystem restoration and management strategy. To implement these strategies requires reconceptualizing the roles of both scientists and stakeholders so as to improve the integration of applied ecological science with democratic decisionmoting.     

Handling the Two Conflicting Discourses of Partnerships and Participation in Regional Planning

This article argues that regional planning is dominated by two conflicting discourses that have different principles of involvement: the discourse of partnerships and the discourse of broad participation. These discourses and principles are not easy to reconcile in practice. On the basis of studies in the literature and a comprehensive case study, this article discusses how these conflicting discourses in regional planning challenge democratic norms, and how this problem is dealt with by the regional political leadership. The article shows that the use of meta-governance strategies and broad arenas of participation might be used in this respect, for example, by constantly having a focus on maintaining democratic anchorage when partnerships are used in regional planning processes.     

Land Use Planning Tools and Institutional Change in Germany: Recent Developments in Local and Regional Planning

This paper seeks to understand how recent social, economic and institutional developments have affected the land use planning tools and instruments that German planners have at their disposal. Although traditional planning practice was focused on the equitable distribution of services and infrastructure and managing growth within a highly structured plan approval process, planning tools at both the local and regional level have become increasingly concerned with enhancing local or regional competitiveness, primarily through the inclusion of a greater number of actors in formulating land use decisions. I argue, however, that despite these changes, the overall institutional framework, which revolves around legal and procedural concerns such as the plan approval process or the granting of building permission, has generally remained unaffected, and a significant gap exists, particularly at the regional level, between the strategic goals of regional governance and actual land use planning tools.     

Aboriginal Councils and Natural Resource Use Planning: Participation by Bargaining and Negotiation

While the Federal and Queensland governments promote self-management and self-determination policies, many Queensland Aboriginal Councils are still unable to participate fully in the development planning processes that affect their land and marine resources. Aboriginal Councils are often over-worked, under-resourced and inappropriately structured, limiting their control over natural resource use planning in their own communities and participation in regional development planning processes. This has serious implications for the long term future of Aboriginal communities. Thus, in line with recent developments in planning theory, this paper outlines the need to assist Aboriginal Councils to bargain effectively and to negotiate with government agencies and resource developers.     

'Hired Hands' or 'Local Voice': Understandings and Experience of Local Participation in Conservation

In recent years, the notion of local participation has emerged as a major force in both policy-making and political philosophy. This paper explores the role that participation is playing in mediating relations between local people, conservation organizations and the ideas and practices of nature conservation in England. Drawing upon empirical research in the county of Kent, the paper argues that there are systematic discrepancies between the motives, experiences and understandings of the various policy actors towards the theory and practice of a participatory conservation. It argues that these apparent discrepancies have serious implications for both the credibility and the effectiveness of present initiatives, whereby participatory practice serves to reshape existing conceptions of conservation and rural space.     

Citizen Participation,Process, and Transparency in Local Government: An Exploratory Study

This study had two purposes. First, it empirically examined the relationship between citizens' participation in administrative policymaking phases and their perception of government transparency. Second, it investigated how citizens' use of both offline and online participation channels and their involvement in different phases of policymaking (i.e., agenda setting, implementation, and evaluation) were related to their assessment of transparency in government. A 2009 survey of residents of Seoul, South Korea, was used to test the study hypotheses. Using two‐stage least squares estimate techniques, the study found that citizens involved in any citizen participation programs are more likely than those not involved to positively assess transparency in government. With regard to the relationship between participation channels and transparency, citizens who used offline participation channels were more likely than nonusers to perceive enhanced transparency in local government. However, their use of online participation channels had limited effect on perceptions of transparency. Finally, participation in two phases of the policy process, agenda setting and evaluation, positively affected citizens' assessment of transparency in government.     

Parties,Participation and Outcomes: The 2008 Victorian Local Government Elections

In November 2008, voters in Victoria participated in local government elections under a system that has been subject to significant reform since the 1980s. This paper seeks to discern trends from the outcomes and identify significant structural features of the reformed system. With regards to outcomes, the paper highlights the high success rate amongst incumbent councillors and the strong sense of successful candidates being independent of political parties. The paper argues that these outcomes have been particularly influenced by the proliferation of electoral districts with relatively small voting populations or by the use of multimember electoral systems in larger districts. The variety of systems used underpins a localised and ‘clientelist’ politics that militates against the dominance of political parties over the contest. The paper also draws attention to the comparatively low rate of voter participation in an election in which compulsory voting applies. It argues that voter absenteeism was particularly noticeable in municipalities with large numbers of residents renting properties and might be explained as a form of ‘renters’ illusion’ impacting on voting behaviour.     

Building Local Governance: Participation and Elite Capture in Slum‐upgrading in Kenya

Community and democratic participation are still an essential component of current mainstream development interventions. However, elite capture seriously undermines the outcomes of development projects. This article analyses the effects on (in)equality of the implementation of policies that are technically participatory, in the context of an internationally‐funded urban development programme in Nairobi, which was implemented in the aftermath of the post‐election violence of 2007–2008. Ethnographic data reveal how the institutionalization of pre‐existing power imbalances between landlords and tenants is accomplished through the creation of structures of community governance and ‘participatory enumeration’. The article concludes that without the resources to challenge powerful interests within the settlement, the programme is likely to worsen the condition of a large section of the residents. In the context of strong pre‐existing inequalities and conflict, participation needs careful management and firm external agency to achieve genuine social transformation.     

Confidence Building in Local Planning and Development. Some Experience from Norway

Can local confidence building and cooperation strengthen local communities and have a positive influence on local development? This is the main question in this article. In the first part of the article the conditions for confidence building, mobilization, self-development and self-confidence in local planning are presented. A planning process called strategic and mobilizing planning which is built on these conditions is described. This planning or development process is drawn as an infinite spiral with an increasing 'radius'. As examples of such local confidence building and mobilization processes the cases of 'Nordvest Forum' and 'Cooperation in Haram commune' are presented and discussed. Nordvest Forum is a collaborative activity owned by competing companies in the region, which have recognized that they have a common problem related to recruitment and training of leaders. This has lead to new activities and new cooperation especially related to management training and cooperation. The collaboration between private and public institutions in Haram is an example where common challenges for companies and community were recognized. This process started as a concrete activity regarding recruitment of skilled workers with participation from a few but nevertheless important persons in the private and public sectors. The learning and confidence developed as a result of this cooperation lead to new and broader activities concerning the future of the community with many more participants. In the conclusion some practical advice is given for community planning and confidence building, informed by the theoretical discussion and the empirical examples in the article.     

Planning and the Culture of Governance: Local Institutions and Reform in France

Legislation introducing major reform of the French planning system is now 6 years old. It was intentionally seen as part of a trio of reforming statutes that linked spatial planning to institutional reform of local government. Taking as its starting point, the idea that planning is inevitably an embedded activity, it explores the relationship between institutional reform and the reform of planning in France generally, and then more specifically in the Région urbaine de Lyon. It concludes that the search for greater simplicity and clarity is not borne out by results on the ground. The French case demonstrates that the success or failure of planning reform is intimately linked to the nature of local government.     

Children and Urban Regional Planning: Participation in the Public Consultation Process through Story Writing

Blue Mountains City is a unique urban area of 75 000 people, located along a narrow mountain ridge and within a world heritage national park, between 60 and 120 kilometres west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Blue Mountains City Council is currently developing a regional city strategy to guide development over the next 25 years. All sections of a very diverse community have been consulted in the public participation process, including children aged between six and 12 years. This paper deals with the analysis of 269 entries for a children's story-writing competition organised by the council. The children had to imagine that they were adults in 2025 and write a story about what their home and city would be like at that time. The paper discusses the complex problems of consulting with children on strategic regional planning matters, and the results from analysis of these competition entries in the light of those problems. The most important issues for the children as a whole were the impact of traffic, the impact of urban development on residential neighbourhoods, places for children to play, protection of the natural environment, for which the city is famous, and the ability to keep domestic pets. One of the most significant impressions emerging from the analysis is that children were far from optimistic about the future. Thirty-five per cent of entries had a negative tone, whereas only 24% were positive. The remaining 41% were written in a matter-of-fact narrative style that indicated neither enthusiasm nor disappointment with the future of the city. The children were more or less evenly divided on whether the future would be strongly based on advances in technology, much the same as now, or based on simpler technology than at present. The technique of story writing, despite some methodological difficulties in this particular case, was a useful tool for consultation with children of this age group.     

新时期方志文化建设的表现、传播及参与

方志文化属于中华文化范畴,方志文化建设是时代要求、表现要求、传播要求、参与要求所决定的。方志文化建设应置于当今文化大发展大繁荣的背景中去思考。     

让游客参与服务他们就一定会很满意吗?——一个有调节的中介模型

本文引入归因理论和公平理论来解释顾客参与服务过程中出现不满意的原因,以旅行社的顾客为调查对象,通过建立结构方程模型,探讨旅行社行业背景下顾客参与的结构维度,分析顾客参与、顾客感知的组织支持、顾客对自身参与表现的满意程度、顾客满意感和顾客归属感这5个变量之间的关系.研究结果表明:(1)顾客感知的组织支持对顾客满意感和归属感有正向影响;(2)顾客参与是顾客感知的组织支持与顾客满意感和归属感之间的关系的中介变量;(3)顾客对自身参与表现的满意程度调节顾客参与的中介效应.     

Coordinating Transport and Urban Planning: From Ideologies to Local Realities

In Europe, the idea that coordinating transportation and urban planning is a necessary condition for setting sustainable urban development into motion has spread throughout academic and professional circles. While this concern is not new, the objectives underlying transport and urban planning coordination have deeply changed over the last decades. How have local authorities translated the requirements and objectives of national laws? How have they accounted for the evolution of these global objectives? What factors explain innovation and continuity in the relationship between land use planning and transport policies? In a comparative research between Switzerland and France, we addressed the question of political change by reconstituting the “trajectories” of four urban areas: Geneva and Bern in Switzerland and Strasbourg and Bordeaux in France. We have described the policy paths of these urban areas since the end of the 1960s by focusing on the contents of master plans, the principal technical solutions and projects that have been implemented, and the means of inter-sectorial coordination used. For each case, factors of change or inertia have been identified by focusing on three main variables that are often studied alternatively in public policy analysis: ideas, institutions and interests.     

All Hazardous Waste Politics is Local: Grass-roots Advocacy and Public Participation in siting and Cleanup Decisions

The combined effects of federalism and interest group pluralism pose particularly difficult problems for hazardous waste siting and cleanup decisions. Most national environmental groups have only limited involvement in local hazardous waste politics, while local grass-roots advocates have very different interests and sometimes are pitted against one another. Both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy recently have begun to use site-specific citizen advisory boards at cleanup sites. This approach appears to improve communications at some sites, but does not address the issues of "not in my back yard" politics and alleged inequitable exposure to hazardous wastes.     

Planning Small Regions in a Larger Europe: Spatial Planning as a Learning Process for Sustainable Local Development

An enlarged Europe is addressing the challenge of territorial cohesion on the basis of a disciplinary and operative framework formed by a number of evolving documents and provisions to be applied and developed at different administrative and planning levels. Rapid and profound changes have occurred in previous decades as far as institutional framework, the role of actors and issues to be tackled are concerned, within a re-scaling process of territorial governance. In this context, small territories can take advantage of European funds, but experience a hard confrontation with the market economy and supra-local visions, use of resources and infrastructure projects. A decisive role, in many countries, has been gained by regional authorities, which must mediate among various territorial levels, institutions and actors involved in a multilevel governance process. The paper focuses on spatial and regional/territorial planning processes among the European dimension, Member States and regions, on the basis of a case study conducted in Northern Italy. The aim is to determine the role of European spatial planning as a “learning machine” [Faludi, A. (2008) European Territorial Cooperation and Learning, disP 172, (1/2008), pp. 3–10.] able to support processes of mutual learning and cooperation, overcoming the attitude of compliance to upper level schemes and financial programmes rather than innovating usual procedures and territorial planning.