This review will examine how various planning scholars and theorists describe and apply concepts of power, decision-making, and consensus.
(1) What is public participation and how does it relate to urban planning & development? Describe Arnstein’s A Ladder of Citizen Participation from 1969 and how it is used as a framework to explain various types of public/citizen participation. (2) Identify and define the four planning models:
Comprehensive/rational/incremental, Communicative, Advocacy/Equity, and Radical. For each, identify their distinguishing characteristics and their major strengths and weaknesses. How does each discuss power relations, participation, expertise, and consensus? What is the theory of change for each model?
Describe which “steps” of Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation does each model align with (i.e. Rational planning = Nonparticipation)
(3) Discuss how they relate and/or respond to each other. Discuss the contradictions, paradoxes, and tensions across these modes of thought. Which model (or combination of models) has the most relevance for planning today?
