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Thesis. 1978. M.Arch.A.S..--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Includes bibliographical references. / M.C.P. / M.Arch.A.S..

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning; and, (M. Arch. in Advanced Studies)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1978. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Nicolas John Messervy. / M.C.P. / M.Arch.in Advanced Studies

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In the central highlands of Iceland, the implementation of new measures to delimit property rights spatially and to establish new regional management plans have caused debates over the use of natural resources with regard to their exploitation, protection and ownership. This study has tried to highlight how to resolve the debate over the use of natural resources and over the definition of land ownership in Iceland with respect to traditional user-rights and ownership practised by local communities. The answer to these questions are particularly important for marginal local communities that use the commons as pasture for sheep grazing because they will directly be affected by hydropower plants and ecotourism projected by the regional development plans. Collecting data through personal interviews and analyzing legal documents with regard to ownership rights and regional planning have been the principal approaches. Firstly, the thesis discusses the theoretical context of conflict resolution within the future developmental plans for Iceland's central highlands. Secondly, the historical and traditional aspects of locally based agricultural production and the social System practiced in the commons are explored. Thirdly, the new rules for the application of the management of resources, ownership rights as well as for the management of national hydropower energy projects are analyzed. In this case, the tools for territorial conflict resolution and the process of territorial planning are discussed in their relation to the construction of hydropower plants in the commons of the Fljótsdalur valley, located between the highlands and the fjords of the eastern region. Finally, the case of Fljótsdalur is presented by focussing on the conflicting interactions between interests in and values given to either the traditional ownership rights or the regional plans for developing tourism and hydroelectric power. The results indicate tensions over how natural resources of the central highlands should be used. There is also a noticeable difference among the various lobby groups with respect to the level of comprehension of what is the area's significance for the country and its resource development. The results obtained show that monetary compensation or clarification of ownership rights is not sufficient for territorial conflict resolution. More important, rather, is the coordination of regional planning procedures, in a way which enhances cooperation among local institutions, and recognizes the interests and values that local community's associate with their environment.

Public participation in the planning process is a well established concept and an important one to municipal planners as they deal with the question of how to most effectively involve citizens in planning. The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of techniques and processes used to involve the public in a specific planning process: the preparation of official community plans in British Columbia. Two principal methods are used to achieve this purpose: a literature review and a comparative analysis of the experiences of four municipalities located in the greater Vancouver region which have recently completed of official community plans. Data for this analysis came from municipal documents, interviews with planners and field observation. Six process-oriented objectives based on democratic principles are established as criteria of effective public participation. The six criteria are: (1) Accessibility - All citizens have the opportunity and are encouraged to participate; (2) Timing - The public is provided with information and opportunities to participate at crucial decision making points in the planning process. (3) Impartiality - No individual or group is permitted to dominate the participation process at the expense of others; (4) Comprehensibility - Important information is provided and is presented in such a way that it is understood by those whom it affects; (5) Alternatives - The public is presented with a range of alternatives; (6) Efficacy - Participators' views are considered in products of the planning process. The suitability of each participation technique and combination of techniques used in the four municipalities is assessed by these six objectives. Nine summary observations derived from the analysis are presented as suggestions to help planners effectively involve the public in future official community plan processes. It is found that effort to involve citizens in the preparation of an official community plan must go beyond the techniques required or suggested by legislation. A public hearing and an advisory planning commission are not sufficient to provide effective participation. It is not possible to state an ideal public participation program with a set of specific techniques that would be useful in all communities preparing an official community plan. However, by designing and implementing a participation program that strives to satisfy the process-oriented objectives, planners can obtain meaningful response from the public. Achieving these objectives depends foremost on administrative commitment. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

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The purpose of this study has been an investigation of citizen participation in USDA Forest Service land management planning for the Coronado National Forest (CNF) in southeastern Arizona. Using an interdisciplinary approach, this research combined concepts from the fields of sociology, political science, natural resource planning and management to develop methods for obtaining citizen input, promoting ethnic minority participation, and following Forest Service use of public comment in the planning process. Data from existing questionnaires and a short questionnaire developed specifically for planning forums were used to investigate forms of participation, determine which publics participate and ascertain levels of interest in natural resource planning. Participation on the CNF core planning team provided observations on use of the publics' input. Despite a 20 percent Mexican-American population surrounding the CNF, there was essentially no ethnic minority participation in planning forums designed to gather public issues. Data support the thesis that minorities did not participate because they did not generally think that natural resource questions were important and did not support land planning. Ethnic minorities will come to meetings when they are directly affected, despite a low sense of efficacy. Ethnic minorities had equal access to information about planning forums; however, very few were on the mailing list because they did not respond to a letter inviting them to be on the CNF mailing and generally did not answer requests for public comment. The Forest Service used the public comments received as the basis for writing issue statements which set the parameters for integrating land and resource planning. Results were reported back to the public for review and issue statements were subsequently revised as a result of citizen and other agency comment. Citizen participation is one way to overcome skepticism of the Forest Service resource management performed in the name of the public interest. Different syles of decision-making imply different roles for citizen participation. Elections are decided by voting and legislative votes are influenced by lobbying. In a bureaucracy, incremental decision-making suggests citizen participation in order to map the political terrain, satisficing encourages interest group negotiation, and the synoptic approach wants facts from the publics. To count votes when decisions are being made to satisfice adds irrelevant data that frustrates both decision-maker and public. Comprehensive and useful public comment can be obtained from a structured process that is appropriate to the decision-making style the agency is using. Citizen views are part of the decision, but so also are economics, legal requirements, and resource constraints. Only in elections do a majority of citizens who vote, win. Bureaucratic decisions are not so neat in terms of popular will. But that is inherent in a government run by three branches, the legislative, executive, and judicial, in a complex society.

Since the second half of the 20th century, public participation in local governance has been widely recognized and promoted by planning theorists and practitioners. Nevertheless, in practice, public participation has faced multiple criticisms, such as a disconnect between process and outcome, low levels of substantive representation for participating community groups, and rigidity in participatory methods. These three criticisms raise the question as to how effective public participatory programs are for multicultural cities, such as New York City, with their increasing numbers of ethnic residents. The goal of this three-article dissertation is to evaluate the current official participatory process in New York City while focusing on effectiveness, representativeness, and inclusiveness, that is, the three aspects of the process receiving the most criticism. Using path analysis, the first article compares and contrasts the effects of Community Board recommendations with those of the recommendations and reviews of other key representatives during the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure and neighborhood characteristics. The results indicate that, although Community Board recommendations have greater direct and indirect effects than those of the borough president, the second model, which incorporates neighborhood variables, reveals that increases in the socio-economic factor and decreases in the immigrant concentration factor are positively associated with changes in decisions within the procedure. Moreover, the second article observed the level of substantive representation in terms of Community Boards using the annual Statement of Needs and survey of residents. The research finds that, Community Board opinions exhibit a high correspondence with the opinions of residents on the need of affordable housing but that the opinions of residents and Community Boards diverged in other topics. Comparatively, Community Boards tend to choose topics that are related to developmental policies as the most pressing issues, while residents find topics relevant to redistributive policies as problematic. The research also reveals that the opinions of ethnic residents are represented less well than those of their non-ethnic neighbors. Lastly, the third article searches for the equity necessary to bring forth inclusive planning processes using interviews with leaders of Community Boards and community-based organizations. The research observes the choices that planners make and finds practical limitations, including legitimacy challenges, linguistic barriers, and definitions of culture. In conclusion, the article proposes that equity comes in multiple forms, including structured collaboration and communication among relevant participants and stakeholders, diverse participation methods for multiple cultures and publics, support from the City, and assistance from planning scholars. Although all three articles point out existing ethnic disparities, the dissertation concludes that an effective, representative, and inclusive participatory process is required for both ethnic and non-ethnic residents in multiethnic, multicultural New York City.