För att skapa en så bra livsmiljö som möjligt spelar medborgardeltagandet en stor roll i den urbana planeringen. För att gemene man ska kunna se framtida konsekvenser av nya planförslag måste de också förstå planens innehåll. Det finns olika slags verktyg för att presentera dessa planförslag. Syftet med denna studie var att genom ett experiment jämföra hur deltagarna förstod detaljplanematerial som presenterades på två olika sätt. Målet var att komma fram till hur olika presentationsverktyg kunde underlätta förmedlingen av nya planförslag vid medborgardialoger. Experimentets upplägg omfattade två moment: 2D-metoden och 4D- metoden. I 2D-metoden fanns detaljplanehandlingar som använts under Södertäljes samråd om Kvarteret Orion. I 4D-metoden tillämpades en 4D-modell över Södertälje som har använts vid medborgardialog. För att samla rådata tillämpades enkäter som insamlingsmetod. Enkätfrågorna utformades för att undersöka deltagarnas förmåga att förstå spatial och instruktiv information. Deltagarna delades slumpmässigt in i två grupper där respektive grupp fick prova en behandling: behandling A eller behandling B. Resultatet analyserades med hjälp av ett Wilcoxon signed rank test och en kvalitativ stapeldiagramsanalys. Slutsatsen visade att 4D- metoden förmedlade informationen tydligast, men att 2D- och 4D-metoderna har olika egenskaper. Dessa metoder behöver därför kompletteras med varandra för att förmedla detaljplaneinformationen till medborgaren på bästa möjliga sätt. / To create a good living environment the civic participation plays a major role in urban planning. In order for the common man to be able to see the future implications of the new planning proposal they must also understand the plan’s content. There are various tools to present these planning proposals. The purpose of this study was to through an experiment compare how the participants understood the zoning plan presented to them in two different ways. The aim was to come up with how various presentation tools could facilitate the communication of planning proposals for citizen dialogues. The experiment set-up comprised two parts: the 2D method and 4D method. In the 2D method, information and planning documents from the Södertälje consultation of Kvarteret Orion were used. In the 4D method, a 4D model of Kvarteret Orion previously used for citizen dialogue was employed. To collect raw data, questionnaires were applied as a collection method. The survey questions were designed to examine the participants’ ability to understand spatial and instructional information. The participants in the experiment were divided randomly into two groups, with each group assigned to try one of two treatments: treatment A or treatment B. The results were analyzed by a Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test and a bar graph qualitative analysis. The conclusion was that the 4D method was the most efficient in communicating the information, but that both methods have their different strengths. To fully convey zoning planning information to the citizen, both methods need to be used since only when complementing each other do they present a full picture of the plan at hand.

Water quality issues in the Leon River watershed in Texas exemplify the challenges water resource managers and the public face in the ongoing effort to improve water quality in our nation’s water bodies. Some pollutant sources are difficult to regulate and likely managed through non-regulatory means, such as voluntary action. The Leon River challenge is how to go beyond regulations to address the concerns of citizens and produce options they want to develop and implement voluntarily that address a common good. This dissertation argues that voluntary measures work only if those who must take action support the action, otherwise conflict can occur. Thus, it is critical to learn what people are willing to do to promote the public good (e.g., swimmable streams). This can be achieved through an effective public process. Public participation processes may have barriers that impede success, such as inadequate access, intimidation, competing interests, limited accountability, and scientific mistrust. This dissertation developed process enhancements to overcome these barriers based on documented public participation principles. This research tested whether specific enhancements can improve the quality of a public process and achieve desired process outcomes. This dissertation reports on quasi-experiments with stakeholders making actual environmental decisions. The findings suggest that these enhancements are capable of reducing conflict and reducing the time to produce environmental policy. Five process enhancements (representation, film, narratives, deliberative decision-making, and decision support) were put into operation to provide options for government agencies and stakeholders to consider when undertaking public participation processes. The lack of access can be avoided by giving stakeholders voice with representation through different types of meetings levels (e.g., focus groups and town hall meetings). Films, when captured, edited, and shown to others, can remove the mechanisms typically associated with the intimidation perceived by speakers during discussions. Narratives were used to collect information about stakeholders to develop a deeper understanding of the diversity of interests affected by a policy, avoiding gridlock from positional bargaining. Deliberative decision-making (no voting) can assure stakeholders have real and equitable decision-making power, with scenarios collaboratively developed that address the common good. Application of a decision support system (DSS) as an overlay to a scientific model can provide stakeholders direct access to science so they can develop scenarios, evaluate alternatives, and choose solutions. / text

Begreppet social hållbarhet innebär att människor lever i jämlikhet och rättvisa. För att en stadsmiljö ska anses socialt hållbar ska människorna som lever där ha anständiga boendemiljöer, nära till service och grönområden och det ska finnas tillgång till kollektivtrafik och arbetsmöjligheter. Människor lever och verkar i den urbana miljön och påverkar den precis som den urbana miljöns sammansättning påverkar människor, deras val och levnadsmönster, därmed behövs även ett samspel mellan människa och miljö för att samhället ska fungera. I en studie om social hållbarhet inom fysisk planering och en fallstudie av stadsutvecklingen av Ulleråker i Uppsala, analyserades begreppet social hållbarhet inom fysisk planering. Intervjuer genomfördes med personer insatta i branschen, planeringaktörer inom Ulleråkerprojektet samt medborgare i Ulleråker. Resultatet visade att social hållbarhet är en dynamisk process som tar tid att uppnå och ansträngning att bevara. Social hållbarhet innehåller många olika delar och handlar om delaktighet och inflytande, men även om möjlighet och rättighet till likvärdiga och fullgoda levnadsförutsättningar. För att ett samhälle ska vara socialt hållbart behöver den fysiska planeringen utgå från alla medborgares möjligheter och rättigheter i samhället. Dessa mål kan uppnås genom ett samlat helhetsperspektiv, vilket innebär att planeringen i en kommun eller stad har en övergripande strategi för att undvika att bli uppdelad per bostadsområde eller stadsdel. Övriga aspekter som är nödvändiga för ett socialt hållbart samhälle är medborgardialog och medborgarinflytande under planeringsprocessen, mötesplatser för alla genom fokus på den allmänna platsen, samband mellan stad och stadsdel, varierat bostadsbestånd samt fokus på sociala nätverk. / The concept of social sustainability implies equity and justice. For an urban environment to be considered as socially sustainable local citizens should have decent living environments, easy access to services and green spaces, public transportation and job opportunities. People affect the urban environment as much as the environment affects them and their lifestyle. Therefore an interaction is needed between humans and the environment for the society to function. The concept was analyzed through a study of social sustainability in spatial planning and a case study of the ongoing urban development of Ulleråker in Uppsala. Interviews were conducted with people working in the field of spatial planning, planners associated with the Ulleråker project, and residents of Ulleråker. The results showed that social sustainability is a dynamic process that will take time to achieve and effort to maintain. Social sustainability includes many different issues, and deals with participation and influence, but also the inhabitants’ opportunities and their right to equal and adequate living conditions. In order for a society to be socially sustainable, planning based on all citizens' opportunities and rights in the society is required. This goal can be achieved through a comprehensive perspective, which means that the planning of a municipality or town should be based on a broad integrative strategy rather than a collection of strategies and neighborhood plans. Other aspects that are necessary for a socially sustainable society are public dialogue and participation in the planning process, meeting points for everyone by public places, relations between cities and neighborhoods, varied housing and a focus on social networks.

On the threshold of the 21st century (in the 1990s), public organizations of European and other countries focused their attention on the problems, the solution of which could help improve standards of living in the cities and towns. Theoretical propositions about the citizens’ right to protection from aggression, environmental pollution and aggressive urban environment as well as the rights to shelter, health care, cultural life, mobility, democratic control of authorities and participation in the development of democratic principles have been analyzed in the great number of documents and in this investigation from various perspectives. The aim is to describe the process of society participation in the development of urban architecture showing the main trends, principles and methods, and to optimize, rationalize the process of developing urban architecture on the principles of sustainable development.

Ce mémoire de maîtrise s’intéresse aux exercices participatifs liés à la planification et à la gouvernance des infrastructures routières en milieu urbain. Une étude de cas a été effectuée concernant la modernisation de la rue Notre-Dame. Celle-ci alimente des controverses socio-politiques depuis plus de 30 ans et une décision publique est attendue. Pour arriver à un compromis satisfaisant, les élus ont convié les acteurs socio-économiques à participer à un débat public. L’analyse de cas a permis de rendre compte de la variété des acteurs en présence et de la diversité des demandes formulées à l’occasion du débat public. Si les demandes formulées peuvent parfois être compatibles, l’étude de cas montre que ces demandes peuvent aussi s’éloigner les unes des autres, cela s’expliquant avant tout par la spécificité et la position des acteurs en présence. Les élus municipaux et provinciaux sont alors placés dans une position complexe, puisqu’ils doivent rendre une décision publique. L’analyse a permis de rendre compte des bénéfices, mais aussi des limites du débat public organisé par rapport à l’enjeu de la modernisation de la rue Notre-Dame. L’étude de cas révèle finalement que certaines limites ont trait à la participation des acteurs aux processus de consultation publique. En fait, trois discours majeur s’affrontent. Chacun d’eux appréhende à partir de valeurs distinctes la question de la régulation sociale et l’élaboration des politiques publiques. / This master's thesis is an analysis of participative mechanisms in the planning of road infrastructures in urban zones. The modernization of Notre-Dame Street, in Montréal, for which a decision has yet to be made, and which has been the object of controversy over the past thirty years, serves as a case study. In order to arrive at a compromise, elected representatives agreed to have several actors participate in public consultations. The analysis centers around requests formulated by participants in the course of these consultations. While the requests that were made were quite similar, they were also very different, thus rendering the actors' other characteristics irrelevant from an analytical standpoint. Municipal and provincial representatives were then placed in a difficult position if they were to modernize the main highway. This entailed arriving at a sociopolitical compromise. In fact, three main discourses characterized the debate. Each of them dismissed, in various ways, matters related to social regulation and public policy. This analysis finally illustrates the limits of public consultation on actors' participation.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

This thesis argues that the management of environmental impacts has many analogies with the management of risk and practice can be improved by using ideas, concepts and principles found in the management of risk in other spheres of human activity. An overview of the challenges faced by environmental impact practitioners in New Zealand and reinforcement of its importance to the sustainable management of natural and physical resources under New Zealand's Resource Management Act is provided. Key risk management ideas, concepts and principles drawn from a variety of sources are listed and parallels drawn between these and existing environmental impact assessment practice in New Zealand. From this list a number are selected and opportunities for improving environmental impact assessment practice are explored. A number of opportunities are identified, starting with the need for a common language and methodology amongst practitioners. Categorisation of impacts to assist transparency of analysis and expression using frequency-consequence curves to aid and promote consistency of decision-making are further areas of opportunity. Risk management has several well-developed techniques for dealing with uncertainty and selection of assessment endpoints. The connection between communication of risk and public perception is an area with significant potential for communication about environmental impacts. Challenges with effective public participation in environmental decision-making are backgrounded and risk management practised in two high profile areas examined for opportunity for improved practice. Neither appears to offer opportunity for improvement in key decision-making areas. A relatively new indicator approach towards risk assessment called "healthy systems method" appears to have significant potential for cost-effective analysis of systems of various types and at various levels. This thesis identifies a number of other areas of risk management requiring further research to determine potential for achieving better practice in environmental impact assessment.

This thesis explores and analyzes the demand for and supply of forests in and near urban areas from a social perspective. Specific focus is directed towards recreational qualities of forests located just outside urban borders, that is, urban fringe forests. To this end, the thesis is based on four empirical research papers. Papers I and II explore the demand component, while Paper III focuses on the supply component. Finally, Paper IV integrates issues of both demand and supply. In Paper I, a survey directed to the general public in urban areas is used to address differences between public attitudes to the forest in general and to the urban fringe forest more specifically. Paper II builds upon interviews with municipal planners with responsibility for green space issues in nine Swedish cities. In Paper III, spatial forest data is analyzed in a GIS to examine how urbanization and population developments influence the supply of urban fringe forests over time. Spatial analysis is further used in Paper IV to quantify forest attractiveness and accessibility in a single measure of urban fringe forest demand and supply. In Paper I it is shown that urban residents associate the urban fringe forest with a variety of design characteristics, as people’s opinions do not solely concern social qualities but also ecological and functional qualities. It is concluded that the overall influence of socioeconomic and demographic attributes is modest in comparison to the basic values and beliefs people hold about life, the environment, and the forest in general. In Paper II it is demonstrated that it is imperative for municipalities to own forest, since this allows them to secure sufficient provisions of recreational forests for future residents and from urban land developments. However, as private citizens do generally not take part of local planning and management decision-making there is an obvious risk for decisions biased towards the interests of social organizations, with specific activity and structural demands that do not necessarily reflect the interests of the general public. From Paper III it is evident that urbanization and population developments do not necessarily lead to a reduced supply of urban fringe forests over time; forest management practices are equally important to consider with regards to people’s opportunities to visit attractive forests for recreation. Finally, in Paper IV it is shown that more attractive forests are generally less accessible to urban residents, regardless of mode of transportation, and that the accessibility to urban fringe forests is generally lower in more deprived neighborhoods. / <p>The research for <em>Paper I </em>of this thesis was conducted in collaboration with Future Forests, a multidisciplinary research program, and its sponsors: the Strategic Foundation for Environmental Research (Mistra), the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Umeå University, the Forestry Research Institute of Sweden (Skogforsk), and the Forestry Industry in Sweden. The research for <em>Papers II-IV</em> was made possible with financial support from the Centre for Environmental Research in Umeå (CMF). Additional financial support was received from the Gösta Skoglund foundation, the Kempe foundation, and the Carl-Fredric von Horn foundation.</p>

Before the historical democratic elections of 1994, South Africa did not have a culture of actively engaging communities in local government affairs. Democracy brought emphasis to transparency in municipal activities, and greater public accountability. It is legislated in South Africa that local governments should interact with communities in an endeavour to carry out the responsibilities of service delivery to ensure growth and development in a manner that promotes and enhances community participation and accountability. However, integrated municipal development planning, budgeting, local economic development projects, and various forms of municipal partnerships, are all issues which require effective community participation processes. Local government as a sphere government closest to the people is now expected to engage communities through exploring sustainable strategies as mechanisms which, within the context of this study, bring about effective public participation. In this regard, an effective, efficient, vibrant and innovative local government system that is accountable to local communities is of obvious importance. The local government has a key role to play in ensuring that people receive quality leadership and a sound and stable local democracy. Section 153 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act 108 of 1996) spells out two important developmental duties of a municipality: * To structure and manage its administration and budget planning process so as to give priority to the basic needs of the community and to promote the environmental and socio-economic development of the community: and * To participate in national and provincial development programmes. The purpose of this study was to determine a variety of effective channels or mechanisms and processes for public participation in the integrated development planning (IDP) and budget process in the Tlokwe Local Municipality. It also focuses on the policy and legislative framework underpinning public participation in the IDP and budget processes. The study further considers that legislation requires that the IDP process of Tlokwe Municipality should structurally incorporate the voice of the community which will be affected by planning. The researcher used a qualitative method to determine how Tlokwe Local Municipality addresses the needs of the local community to enhance participatory democracy. The study established that there are a number of challenges facing the municipality which are barriers to effective participation. Several of these challenges relate to the poor and the marginalised groups which still have far too little influence in the affairs of the municipality. / Thesis (MA (Public Management and Governance))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

This study looks at political culture and socialisation responses to Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM). It identifies political culture and socialisation as part of a process, the development of a political culture with specific attitudes, cognitions, and feelings towards the political system. Political culture and socialisation impart the knowledge of how to act politically, i.e. how to apply values in formulating demands and making claims on the political system. They form a connecting link between micro- and macro-politics. The study maintains that political orientations are handed down from one generation to another, through the process of political socialisation. Top-down and bottom-up influences come into play to augment a discourse on the global nature of political socialisation and the political culture of international societies with regard to IWRM and governance ideologies. It is argued that these international ideas become relevant in the national political agenda, civil society organisations and trans-national networks. The IWRM aspects of water as an economic good and a basic human right have become a two-edged sword in the South African context. The study reveals that politics stand at the epicentre of water problems, and that IWRM is a political-ethical issue which challenges power bases in many communities. The IWRM global norms of equitable, efficient and sustainable use of water resources have become a major problem in a water-scarce country burdened with economic inequalities and abject poverty. This is a pressing issue because there is an increasing demand for water to sustain the development necessary to redress the draconian ills of the apartheid past. This becomes evident in the fundamental legislative overhaul that has taken place since 1994, embracing a transformation culture that glorifies the norm of water not only as a fundamental human right, but also as a commodity that is necessary to sustain human dignity. It is here that water is politicised. Violent protests have erupted in reaction to perceived neo-liberal attempts to deny the poor their access to this resource. The political culture and socialisation responses as far as IWRM is concerned appear within fragmented lines, i.e. mainly black and poor communities embrace a culture of non-payment for services and resort to violent protests as a viable method to raise their concerns. In contrast, the white and middle-class communities manifest a tendency to form parallel local government structures; they then withhold rate payments and provide services for themselves through ratepayer associations. Finally, the study considers the South African context with regard to the manifestations of political culture, and how this influences water resources. It is evident that there is too much emphasis on politics at the expense of discussions on IWRM. Civil society organisations make very little attempt to encourage public participation in water management structures. It also appears that political elites who are disillusioned with civil society organisations tend to derail their efforts to educate the public on water management structures. / MA, Political Studies, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2011