ABSTRACT
Participatory planning is fundamental to finding appropriate and effective solutions to community design and planning problems. The benefits of broad-based community involvement in planning and design are widely documented; they include enhancing the capacity of citizens to cultivate a stronger sense of commitment, increasing user satisfaction, creating realistic expectations of outcomes, and building trust (Altschuler 1970; McClure et al. 1997). However, these benefits do not come easily; a truly participatory planning process requires a serious commitment of time, energy, and resources on the part of both the technical expert and the community expert, as well as a mutual respect for the assets that the others bring. Planners and designers contribute technical skills and knowledge; citizens provide community history, local knowledge, cultural values and understanding. These types of expertise complement each other and result in richer, more comprehensive planning and design solutions.
