Participatory Urban Planning

Urban planning is often done by planners in cooperation with the respective city. However, the opinions and perspectives of the people living in cities is not always taken into account in a meaningful way. "Engaging wider communities in participatory urban planning processes can provide local knowledge and information to compliment the technical know-how of experts and officials." (Source) Also, oftentimes if the people living in the cities going through transformations (new buildings, changing streets, etc.) are not taken into account or brought on board from the beginning, they are more likely to resist the changes brought down from the planners simply out of fear or general resistance to change. Involving civilians can help accomplish urban planning goals by getting everyone on the same page about the projects being proposed.

Participatory urban planning is done by using involving citizens in various stages of an urban planning project including: identifying and defining an urban planning problem, creating a vision to guide design scenarios, developing innovative solutions, making a coherent plan for the implementation of this solution, and organizing a good follow-up. Two examples of sub-processes include participatory rural appraisal (a well-known approach) and participatory mapping.