ABSTRACT
Those who have command over information, decisions and resource allocation have power. This chapter is concerned with this power and its possible devolution both down the different levels of government and from government agencies to the public at large. To change policies or to implement plans almost always requires the support or at least the acquiescence of others. Consultations with the interested parties may thus promote efficient decision making and planning by avoiding wasteful confrontation and by minimising mistakes in design and implementation. Effective communication between authorities and the public is hampered by administrative complexities and by sharp differences in the attitudes and perceptions of the public and engineers. The general public and the engineers charged with solving urban flood problems display significant differences in attitudes and perceptions which concern, first, the flood hazard, and secondly, each other. Engineers who work on a series of flood problems in a variety of areas see a depressingly familiar pattern of public attitudes.
