ALTERNATIVE FORUMS FOR CITIZEN PARTICIPATION: FORMAL MEDIATION OF URBAN LAND USE DISPUTES

Abstract

Among the recurrent concerns of urban planners and administrators is the institutionalization of an inclusive, equitable, and effective process of citizen participation. Such is required not only as matter of law but also as instrument of social cohesion. The great majority of urban conduct is a function of voluntarism, consensus, and accommodation. In earlier decades, informal social processes facilitated reconciliation. In more recent decades, formal processes of citizen participation have yielded frustration. For the present decade, both literature and practice suggest a shifting of citizen participation processes toward mediation alternatives. While increasingly popular, all mediation alternatives carry three troublesome concerns: definition of interested parties, openness to information, and role of the public mediator. Unless such alternatives are seen as more inclusive, equitable and effective, they will fail to win social acceptance, leading to increasing community distrust and frustrating the ability to effectively plan and govern urban communities.

Citation

Allor, D.J. (1993), "ALTERNATIVE FORUMS FOR CITIZEN PARTICIPATION: FORMAL MEDIATION OF URBAN LAND USE DISPUTES", International Journal of Conflict Management, Vol. 4 No. 2, pp. 167-180. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb022725