Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Public planning agencies in democratic political systems are faced by a demand from the public for the opportunity to have an influence on decision-making processes. Evidence suggests that this demand for public participation will not decline. The typical planning agency response to this demand results from common perceptions of the arguments in favour of participation. The literature suggests that this response has been a reluctant and marginal inclusion of public participation in decision-making processes, in reaction to forces external to the agency. The usual arguments for public participation in planning are based in democratic political theory, and are arguments which have to do with the benefits of participation for the public or the political system. These arguments are themselves not conclusive, for there are different schools of democratic theory which ascribe different levels of significance to participation. Public participation approached from the basis of this political theory does not lead to a concept of it being of significant benefit to the planning agency's organizational needs, except insofar as engaging in participation may make the agency conform to political requirements. An alternative approach, based on organizational theory, considers public participation from the viewpoint of how it may serve organizational needs of the public planning agency. The current Open Systems view of organizations provides such a means for undertaking an organizational approach to public participation. It considers an organization's communication with its external environment to be a critical element in its functioning. An examination of the principles and concepts of the Open Systems view of organizations demonstrates that they are applicable to public participation and the public planning agency. The Open Systems view can be integrated with a model of a public planning agency developed according to current planning theory, and with political systems theory as the latter pertains to a planning agency's interrelationships with its environment. When this integration is done within the context of the manner in which the representative democratic system functions, the result suggests that public participation assists in meeting certain "organizational" needs of the public planning agency. This "organizational approach" to public participation provides a rationale for a planning agency's positive attitude towards public participation, since it is an approach which considers the benefits to the planning agency as an organization. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

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.

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