ABSTRACT
Sherry Arnstein uses the metaphor of a ladder describes gradations of citizen's participation in urban programs and development decisions that affect their lives. In the name of citizen participation, people are placed on rubberstamp advisory committees or advisory boards for the express purpose of educating them or engineering their support. This illusory form of participation initially came into vogue with urban renewal when the socially elite were invited by city housing officials to serve on Citizen Advisory Committees (CACs). In some respects group therapy, masked as citizen participation, should be on the lowest rung of the ladder because it is both dishonest and arrogant. Informing citizens of their rights, responsibilities, and options can be the most important first step toward legitimate citizen participation. Partnerships represent a redistribution of power arrived at through negotiation along the lines John Forester describes.
