Accepting or Refusing to Participate? A qualitative research in urban planning environment of Iran

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph. D. in Urban Planning, School of Architecture and Urban Studies, Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST), Tehran, Iran

2 Professor, School of Architecture and Urban Studies, Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST), Tehran, Iran

3 Associate Professor, School of Architecture and Urban Studies, Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST), Tehran, Iran

4 Professor, Department of Urban Planning and Design, School of Architecture and Urban Studies University of Art, Tehran, Iran

5 Professor, Department of Health in Disasters & Emergencies, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences (USWR), Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Public Participation is a local, diverse, complicated and dynamic concept. So, the existing theories in the field of public participation in urban planning which has been developed in the global North countries are not in the line with the characteristics of the planning environments of developing countries, moreover they have not enough efficiency in these countries. Whereas, in theory, most of the research noticing to public participation in the urban planning environment in Iran have adopted the positivist approach to evaluate the existing theories and have aimed to determine the Importance of known variables and their impact on public participation. In the other part of these researches have been tried to evaluate the consequences of participatory processes. These researches attempt to deal with this complicated and abstract phenomenon through shrinking it to numbers and figures within the framework of existing theories, without considering the characteristics of planning environment. Accordingly, there is a contradiction in understanding that is riddled with misunderstandings and ambiguity about the concept of participation and its effectiveness in the urban planning environment in Iran. From an empirical point of view, due to the essence of this concept and the variety of its understanding and practice in different structures, the contemporary experiments that are based on the theories, models and experiences of other countries, over-reliance on the techniques of participation and merely emphasized on the objective conditions of the formal structure of the planning environment, not only have not decreased the gap between theory and practice, but also have resulted in practice in trapping participation into a vicious and faulty cycle. Therefor this research tries to recognize the informal structures of urban planning environment which affect public participation, through discovering the experience of people and planners in public participation and the meaning of it in the urban planning environment of Iran. This research can be categorized within the interpretive paradigms. Epistemologically, it emphasizes on the interaction between the researcher and the participants and the closest possible objective distance. This research uses ‘manifest inductive qualitative content’ analysis methodology. Data gathering has been done using in-depth unstructured interviews. Choosing participants (interviewees) has been targeted towards developing the concepts and continued until theoretical saturation. 22 individual in-depth interviews and 2 group interviews have been conducted with planners and people who had experience in participation. Being aware of the interactive characteristic of the concept of participation, some field surveys have been conducted during the procedure of the study in order to develop the concepts further. The findings of the study demonstrate that the most important concept in the understanding and practicing of participation for the people and the planners, simultaneously, is “refusal from participation”, which is a different concept than the concept of refusal argued in former theories in the field of social sciences. Finally, by achieving an in-depth understanding of the components of the participatory planning environment, this research, that has considered the current conditions of the planning environment of the country, underscores the areas requiring intervention to fill the gap between theory and practice in participation.
 

Keywords


پیران، پرویز (۱۳۹۵)،نقد خود: ویژگی‌های شخصیت جمعی ایرانیان با سازوکارهای بقا، آوای همیاری، شماره ۱۰، صص ۸-۱۰.
پیران، پرویز (۱۳۷۶)، مبانی مفهومی و نظری مشارکت، موسسه پژوهش‌های برنامه‌ریزی، تهران.
دانشپور، سیدعبدالهادی؛ بهزادفر، مصطفی؛ برک‌پور، ناصر و شرفی، مرجان (۱۳۹۶)، محیط برنامه‌ریزی مشارکتی؛ ارائه مدل مفهومی برای تحلیل عوامل مؤثر بر مشارکت شهروندان در برنامه‌ریزی‌، نشریه نامه معماری و شهرسازی، شماره ۱۸، صص ۲۳-۴۱.
شیانی، ملیحه؛ رضوی ­الهاشم، بهراد و دل‌پسند، کامل (1391)، بررسی عوامل اجتماعی مؤثر بر مشارکت شهروندان در مدیریت امور شهری تهران،مطالعات شهری، 2 (4)، صص 215- 240.
علوی‌تبار، علیرضا (1379)، بررسی الگوی مشارکت شهروندان در اداره امور شهرها، انتشارات سازمان شهرداری‌های کشور، تهران.
موسایی، میثم و شیانی، ملیحه (1389)، مشارکت در امور شهری و الزامات آن در شهر تهران، فصلنامه علمی- پژوهشی رفاه اجتماعی، 10 (38)، صص 245- 268.
موسوی، میرطاهر (1391)، درآمدی بر مشارکت اجتماعی، انتشارات جامعه‌شناسان، تهران.
نراقی، حسن (۱۳۸۵)، جامعه‌شناسی خودمانی؛ چرا درمانده‌ایم؟، نشر اختران، تهران.
یزدان­پناه، لیلا (۱۳۸۶)، موانع مشارکت اجتماعی شهروندان، فصلنامه رفاه اجتماعی، ۲۶ (۷)، صص ۱۰۵-۱۳۰.
Abelsona, J; Forest, P. G; Eyles, J; Casebeer, A; Martin, E & Mackean, G (2007), Examining the Role of Context in the Implementation of a Deliberative Public Participation Experiment: Results from a Canadian Comparative Study, Social Science & Medicine, 64, pp.2115-2128.
Alterman, R; Harris, D & Hill, M (1994), The Impact of Public Participation on Planning; The case of the Derbyshire Structure Plan, TPR, 55 (2), pp.177- 196.
Beard, V. A (2005), Individual determinants of participation in community development in Indonesia, Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 23, pp.21-39.
Beierle, T. C (1999), Using Social Goals to Evaluate Public Participation in Environmental Decisions, Policy Studies Review, 16(3–4), pp.75–103.
Bonafede, G & Lo Piccolo, F (2010), Participative Planning Processes in the Absence of the (Public) Space of Democracy, Planning Practice & Research, 25(3), pp.353-375.
Brownill, S (2009), The Dynamics of Participation: Modes of Governance and Increasing Participation in Planning, Urban Policy and Research, 27 (4), pp.357-375.
Chambers, R (1995), Poverty and livelihoods: whose reality counts?, Environment and Urbanization, 7 (1), pp.173-205.
Connelly, S (2010), Participation in a Hostile State: How do Planners Act to Shape Public Engagement in Politically Difficult Environments?, Planning Practice and Research, 25(3), pp.333-351.
Conrad, E; Cassar, L. F; Christie, M & Fazey, I (2011), Hearing but not listening? A participatory assessment of public participation in planning, Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 29, pp.761-782.
Davies, A. R (2001), Hidden or Hiding? Public Perceptions of Participation in the Planning System, TPR, 72 (2), pp.193- 216.
Dijk, T. V & Ubels, H (2015), How Dutch professionals conduct interactive design sessions to foster ‘shared understanding’, Envionment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 0(0), pp.1–16.
Drisko, J. W & Maschi, T (2016), Content Analysis, Oxford University Press, New York.
Ebdon, C & Franklin, A. L (2006), Citizen Participation in Budgeting Theory, Public Administration Review, 66(3), pp.437-447.
Fathejalali, A & Rafieian, M (2017), Tracking Citizen Participation in informal Settlements’ Upgrading Programmes; Case Study of Bandar-Abbas City’s Informal Settelments Upgrading Project in Iran. In Hans-Liudger Dienel, M. Reza Shirazi, Sabine Schroder and Jenny Schmithals (Eds.), Citizens’ Participation in Urban Planning and Development in Iran (301-325), Routledge, New York.
Forester, J (2006), Making Participation Work When Interests Conflic; Moving from Facilitating Dialouge and Moderating Debate to Mediating Negotiations, American Planning Association, 72 (4), pp.447-456.
Gaventa, J & Valderrama, C (1999), Participation, Citizenship and Local Governance, Background Note Prepared for Workshop on ‘Strengthening Participation in Local Governance’, Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Brighton, June 21-24.
Guaraldo Choguill, M. B (1996), A Ladder of Community Participation for Underdeveloped Countries, Habitat INTL, 20 (3), pp.431-444.
Hatley, J. H (2013), Preserving Place: A Grounded Theory of Citizen Participation in Community-Based Planning. Graduate Thesis and Dissertations, Department of Geography, Environment, and Planning, College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Florida.
Hopkins, D (2010), The emancipatory limits of participation in planning; Equity and power in deliberative plan-making in Perth, Western Australia, TPR, 81 (1), pp.55-81.
Imani-Jajarmi, H, (2017), Citizens’ Participation in Historical and current Urban Management Systems in Iran, M. Reza Shirazi, Sabine Schroder and Jenny Schmithals (Eds.), Citizens’ Participation in Urban Planning and Development in Iran (11-27), Routledge, New York.
Innes, J. E & Booher, D. E (2004), Reframing Public Participation: Strategies for the 21st Century, Planning Theory & Practice, 5(4), pp.419-436.
Innes, J. E & Booher, D. E (2010), Planning with Complexity: An introduction to collaborative rationality for public policy, Routledge, New York.
Irvin, R. A & Stansbury, J (2004), Citizen Participation in Decision Making: Is It Worth the Effort?, Public Administration Review, 64 (1), pp.55-65.
Khan, S & Swapan, M. S. H (2013), From Blueprint Master Plans to Democratic Planning in South Asian Cities: Pursuing Good Governance Agenda against Prevalent Patron-client Networks, Habitat International, 38, pp.183-191.
King, C. S; Feltey, K. M & Susel, B. O (1998), The Question of Participation: Toward Authentic Public Participation in Public Administration, Public Administration Review, 58 (4), pp.317-326.
Lane, M. B (2005), Public Participation in Planning: an Intellectual History, Australian Geographer, 36 (3), pp.283-299.
Pakzad, J (2017), Historical Obstacles Preventing Public Participation in Iran: A Planning Practitioner’s Point of View, M. Reza Shirazi, Sabine Schroder and Jenny Schmithals (Eds.), Citizens’ Participation in Urban Planning and Development in Iran (55-73), Routledge, New York.
Reynolds, J. P (1969), Public Participation in Planning, The Town Planning Review, 40 (2), pp.131-148.
Rowe, G; Marsh, R & Frewer, L. J (2004), Evaluation of a Deliberative Conference, Science, Technology, & Human Values, 29 (1), pp.88-121.
Shirazi, R (2017), Paradox of Citizen Participation in Iran. In Hans-Liudger Dienel, M. Reza Shirazi, Sabine Schroder and Jenny Schmithals (Eds.), Citizens’ Participation in Urban Planning and Development in Iran (327-331), Routledge, New York.
Yang, K & Pandey, S. K (2011), Further Dissecting the Black Box of Citizen Participation: When Does Citizen Involvement Lead to Good Outcomes? Public Administration Review, 71 (6), pp.880-892.
Yetano, A; Royo, S & Acerete, B (2010), What Is Driving the Increasing Presence of Citizen Participation Initiatives?, Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 28, pp.783-802.
Zhao, M; Lin, Y & Derudder, B (2017), Demonstration of public participation and communication through social media in the network society within Shanghai, Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science, 0(0), pp.1–19.