This thesis explores the role of citizen participation in a post-disaster flood hazard mitigation planning program in Peterborough, Ontario. Recognizing that citizen participation is an integral element of hazards mitigation planning, a review of the relevant literature identifies six strategic planning choices that should be considered in the design of a citizen participation program. The study applies this framework to the Flood Reduction Master Plan (FRMP) study and planning process in Peterborough, undertaken following the July 2004 flood event, to analyze citizen participation in hazard mitigation planning practice. Existing documentation, including the FRMP, and fifteen key informant interviews provided the main sources of research data. Data were analyzed in terms of the framework and other hazards mitigation theory found in the literature to produce the findings of the study. There existed many strengths and several weaknesses of the citizen participation aspect of the planning program. Many of the decisions made regarding citizen participation in the FRMP process can be considered successful by the standards set in the literature.

The move toward primary health care renewal in Canada and in industrialized nations around the world is resulting in a fundamental change in the way health care is delivered. Citizen participation is one of the five pillars of primary health care-not just participation in decisions related to an individuals health care treatment, but also from the larger perspective of decision-making that affects policy and structure within an organization. Health care organizations want to be responsive to the needs of their communities, and consumer-savvy citizens increasingly expect to play a part in the decision-making process of organizations. <p>The relationship between health care administrators, providers and citizens is sculpted by fundamental philosophies, values and processes. These include organizational culture, change process, social capital, citizen role definition and shared power or citizen empowerment. This research seeks to link the concepts and create an understanding of the dynamic and complex relationships which result in effective or ineffective citizen participation in decision-making within organizations. A theoretical framework was used which addresses these fundamental philosophies.<p> The object of this research is to explore the processes and structures of organizations that facilitate or hinder meaningful citizen participation. Community health centres (CHCs) have long been recognized in Canada and around the world as leaders in the facilitation of citizen participation, and this research reviews pertinent documents from fourteen CHCs across Canada. Some of the data collected from a national research project on community health centres is used. Through secondary analysis, the original results of the document audit are compared to the original results of a quantitative survey administered to volunteers, clients, health care professionals and board members at each site that collected information about community capacity, organizational capacity and outcomes. <p> Results of this thesis research are presented in a framework of community and organizational characteristics influencing the degree of public participation supported in the literature. The research presented in this thesis shows some relationship between supportive factors identified in the organizations documents and the degree of participation and satisfaction identified in the quantitative survey results. Possible reasons for this relationship are explored and recommendations are made based on a hierarchical model of participation, with greater citizen participation as the goal.

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

published_or_final_version / Geography / Master / Master of Philosophy

The urban renewal outcomes have long been criticized as undesirable. Issues like involuntary displacement, uprooting communities and violating local citizens’ views remain unsolved after series of institutional reforms in the late 1990s. The academia thus turned to seek for more public engagement channels and considered engagement as the key to achieve desirable urban renewal outcomes. But repeated failures of new public engagement platforms seem to be inconsistent with the theoretical predictions, creating an impasse in local discussion. The study tries to explain the impasse with Lacanian subjectivity of lack and desire. To fill the existential lack, as metonymical displacement, subjects continuously desire for a complete symbolic explanation. But with the existence of Real, the lacking subjects fail to capture everything under the symbolic, leading to incompleteness and anxiety. To paper over such anxiety, the fantasy of spatial planning delivers a triumphalist imagination that future time and space can be fully manipulated by omnipotent subjects of planning practitioners and conquered by the symbolic (the plan). Thus, the subject behaviors and identifications of planning practitioners and community members are shaped by the Other to sustain such fantasy. Through case study of Ma Tau Kok 13 Streets, the study argues that the main concerns of DURF is not the fulfillment of public aspirations, rather, the recommendations by DURF are solely designed for sustaining the spatial planning fantasy. The issues on urban renewal in 13 Streets are highly complicated and unpredictable, involving entwining conflicting of interests and factors beyond the control of DURF. The inability to control implies incompleteness and insecurity. Therefore, in the final plan of DURF, the complexities are deliberately simplified or bypassed, so that the fantasy and identification of planning practitioners can be sustained and the command of the Other is fulfilled. However, such self-deception fails to provide meaningful recommendations towards the community aspirations from public engagement process and even acts against the interests of local citizens in 13 Streets neighborhood, despite the more balanced composition and democratic procedures of DURF. To overcome the identifications and resulting distortion in public engagement, the curse of fantasy has to be traversed. Planning practitioners has to reavow the existence of the unpredictability of the reality and admit the fundamental limitations of their symbolic. The uncontrollable factors in the reality which has been repressed should be deliberately emphasized with the support of Bottom-Up Geographic Information System (BUGIS). In moral terms, the planning practitioners should consciously bear the condemnation from the Other of not performing as ‘problem solvers’. Besides, the community members should also be educated to bear greater responsibility in forming feasible recommendations in planning process, rather than assuming themselves as idle believers. Thus, other than traditional institutional and structural reform paradigm, a new theoretical outlet derived from subjectivity is provided for the impasse of Hong Kong. / published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

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This thesis is a qualitative case study of Vapsten sameby’s participation in the process of establishing a mine in the Rönnbäcken area in Storuman municiplity in Sweden. The mine in Rönnbäcken is a case that has been discussed extensively in the region during the last couple of years. The project is, on one hand, expected to engender job opportunities and economic growth, but on the other hand expected to have a large influence on the local environment and threaten the sami people’s traditional lifestyle. With background in environmental justice theory and theories of citizen participation this thesis emphasizes the meaningful involvement of minorities in decisionmaking. Due to this, Vapsten’s participation in the process has been studied. Further, Vapsten’s experience of their opportunities to participate has been outlined.Drawing upon Sherry Arnsteins model of citizen participation and Hans Wiklunds criterions of deliberation, Vapsten sameby’s participation is not ideal. This conclusion is confirmed by the experiences of representatives from Vapsten.

M. Tech. Public Management / The issue of public participation in local government is important for the delivery of services to communities. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 and other legislation relating to public participation such as the Municipal Systems Act, 2000 (Act 32 of 2000,) encourage the participation by communities in the affairs of the municipality. In this study, public participation perspectives are outlined on an international level and in South African local government. The area of the study is the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, which is situated in the Gauteng Province. The study seeks to assess the impact that public participation has on enhancing service delivery in the City of Tshwane. Furthermore, the study seeks to achieve its purpose by establishing the extent to which public participation enhances service delivery in the City of Tshwane.

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management