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Online Participatory Technologies: Opportunities and Challenges for Enriching Participatory Planning

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  • Nader Afzalan
  • Brian Muller

Abstract

Problem, research strategy, and ­findings: Planning organizations are increasingly using online technologies for public engagement, but there is dispute about their value in enriching public engagement. We explore an interdisciplinary literature on the capability of online participatory tools (OPTs) to respond to the goals of participatory planning. Proponents argue that OPTs can help attract more citizens, engage a more diverse population, disseminate information more broadly, gather local knowledge, and facilitate consensus building. Skeptics argue that OPTs can intensify social injustice and an unequal distribution of power as well as create or exacerbate privacy, security, and data management issues. We critically examine the pros and cons of OPTs, assess their potential role in facilitating public engagement, and provide guidelines for their implementation. These results are time sensitive because of the rapidly changing environment of digital technologies.Takeaway for practice: There are still many unresolved questions about the benefits of OPTs. Research suggests that they can at times be effective in addressing goals of public participation, such as inclusive planning, consensus building, learning from local knowledge, and mobilizing social action. Their effectiveness depends significantly on implementation, however. Integrating online participation strategies with the overall participation process and other digital infrastructures within the organization may foster their effectiveness. Planners collaborating with formal or informal learning networks or related professionals can facilitate the effective use of OPTs within their own organizations. Additional information is needed on which OPTs are most appropriate in which planning environments, how well OPTs meet a range of major participatory objectives, how to make trade-offs between OPTs and face-to-face methods, and the best managerial structures for ensuring their effective use.

Suggested Citation

  • Nader Afzalan & Brian Muller, 2018. "Online Participatory Technologies: Opportunities and Challenges for Enriching Participatory Planning," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 84(2), pages 162-177, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:rjpaxx:v:84:y:2018:i:2:p:162-177
    DOI: 10.1080/01944363.2018.1434010
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    Cited by:

    1. Katherine Iles & Sya Buryn Kedzior, 2023. "Operationalizing participation: experiences and perspectives of participatory GIS program coordinators," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 25(4), pages 539-565, October.
    2. Claire Daniel & Christopher Pettit, 2022. "Charting the past and possible futures of planning support systems: Results of a citation network analysis," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 49(7), pages 1875-1892, September.
    3. David Horan, 2019. "A New Approach to Partnerships for SDG Transformations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-22, September.
    4. Griffin, Greg Phillip & Jiao, Junfeng, 2019. "The Geography and Equity of Crowdsourced Public Participation for Active Transportation Planning," SocArXiv 9ghrn, Center for Open Science.
    5. Miroslav Kopáček, 2021. "Land-Use Planning and the Public: Is There an Optimal Degree of Civic Participation?," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-15, January.
    6. Dragana S. Nikolić & Marijana D. Pantić & Vesna T. Jokić, 2021. "Urban and Spatial Planning: Pragmatic Considerations for Plan Implementation Improvements (A Case Study of the City of Bor)," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(1), pages 21582440219, February.
    7. Griffin, Greg Phillip & Jiao, Junfeng, 2018. "Crowdsourcing Bike Share Station Locations: Evaluating participation and placement," SocArXiv mtnza, Center for Open Science.
    8. Alattar, Mohammad Anwar & Cottrill, Caitlin & Beecroft, Mark, 2021. "Public participation geographic information system (PPGIS) as a method for active travel data acquisition," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    9. Jordi Honey-Rosés & Mitzy Canessa & Sarah Daitch & Bruno Gomes & Javier Muñoz-Blanco García & André Xavier & Oscar Zapata, 2020. "Comparing Structured and Unstructured Facilitation Approaches in Consultation Workshops: A Field Experiment," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 29(5), pages 949-967, October.
    10. Nathan Fox & Victoria Campbell-Arvai & Mark Lindquist & Derek Van Berkel & Ramiro Serrano-Vergel, 2022. "Gamifying Decision Support Systems to Promote Inclusive and Engaged Urban Resilience Planning," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(2), pages 239-252.
    11. Andrea Ballatore & Teun Johannes Verhagen & Zhije Li & Stefano Cucurachi, 2022. "This city is not a bin: Crowdmapping the distribution of urban litter," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 26(1), pages 197-212, February.
    12. James Charlton & Ian Babelon & Richard Watson & Caitlin Hafferty, 2023. "Phygitally Smarter? A Critically Pragmatic Agenda for Smarter Engagement in British Planning and Beyond," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(2), pages 17-31.

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