ABSTRACT

Public participation is central to all that planners do. This chapter explores the ways in which public participation may be employed in different contexts and for varying objectives. The chapter outlines what the key objectives of a participation process are, and should be, and discusses how to: (1) Develop an effective public participation strategy, (2) Evaluate the broad array of tools that may be used to meet specific needs and circumstances, (3) Present information effectively, and (4) Assess the outcomes of a given process. Key themes include the need to be: inclusive in identifying which stakeholders to engage; deliberate in deciding when and how to engage different stakeholders; creative in selecting and applying various public participation techniques to different community contexts; and strategic in responding to potential opposition as part of a public participation process. In addition, the chapter addresses the need to anticipate and build flexibility into process timelines as a means to avoid unexpected technical, political, or other delays, and the ways in which public participation leads to more informed public policy.