ABSTRACT
This study has evaluated the relevance of communicative, participatory and collaborative planning, often falling under the conceptual umbrella of consensus planning. It has identified how consensus planning has materialised in Dutch infrastructure planning practice. Based on these findings, this chapter will identify the essense consensus planning itself. During the 1990s consensus planning came into fashion in the Netherlands, as Dutch people became increasingly dissatisfied with infrastructure development. As a result, many consensus planning efforts underwent experimentation. An elaborate type of consensus planning, based on direct participation was thought to enable planners to overcome some disadvantages of rational planning. Although there has been some acceptance and success, many challenges to its application remain.
