Public Participation in Local Government Review of Development Proposals in Hazardous Locations: Does it Matter, and What Do Local Government Planners Have to Do with It?

Natural hazard investigators recommend that local governments adopt mitigation plans to help reduce hazard losses. However, such plans are unlikely to be effective unless a wide range of public stakeholders is involved in their creation. Previous research shows that stakeholder participation levels in hazard mitigation planning tend to be low, though there may be particular choices that local government planners can make to foster participation. We examine the importance of planners’ choices and role orientations (i.e., beliefs regarding appropriate behavior in the workplace) for participation levels in site plan review, wherein local governments review site plans for proposed development projects to ensure compliance between project design and applicable plans and policies. Using a national sample of 65 development projects located in areas subject to natural hazards, and bivariate and multivariate analyses, we examine whether participation levels during site plan review depend upon planners’ choices and role orientations, and whether participation levels are correlated with the incorporation of hazard mitigation techniques into development projects. We find significant correlations between participation levels and planners’ choices, between participation levels and planner’s role orientations, and between participation levels and the incorporation of hazard mitigation techniques. We encourage local government planners to revisit their beliefs, choices, and behaviors regarding public participation in site plan review.     

Plan integration for resilience scorecard: evaluating networks of plans in six US coastal cities

Planning for hazard mitigation is frequently detached from other planning activities that influence development patterns in hazardous areas. Consistent integration of mitigation reduces hazard vulnerability for people and the built environment. We apply a plan integration for resilience scorecard in six US coastal cities to evaluate the integration of local networks of plans and the degree to which they target areas most vulnerable to flooding hazards. We find that plan integration scores vary widely across the six cities, and that some plans actually increase vulnerability in hazard zones. Policies also frequently support mitigation in areas with low vulnerability, rather than in areas with high vulnerability. The plan integration for resilience scorecard can generate information to improve hazard planning by allowing planners to identify conflicts between plans, assess whether plans target areas that are most vulnerable, and better inform decision makers about opportunities to mainstream mitigation into multiple sectors of planning.     

WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST1

ABSTRACT. The water resources manager, concerned with providing for citizen needs for water in all its varied aspects, is obliged to consider the public interest in his decision making. But the public interest, although inferring the superiority of public over purely private interests, is more of a concept of political ethics than an operational objective. Recent attacks on water resources developments place in question just how responsive the water resources manager has been to the public at large during the planning process. The recent broadening of planning objectives beyond economic efficiency to include greater attention to social goals is an encouraging development. Efforts should be expanded toward greater citizen participation and more attention should be given to sampling surveys to determine citizen attitudes on water resources proposals. In the last analysis, the decision-making process must combine the expertise of the water resources manager and the participation of the people through the political process.     

Adaptation planning for sea level rise: a study of US coastal cities

Sea level rise (SLR) is expected, even without greenhouse gas emissions. As SLR is inevitable, adapting to its impacts has received increasing attention, and local governments are the key actors in this emerging agenda. This study indicates that adaptation planning for SLR should be integrated into two local major planning mechanisms in the United States: the local comprehensive plans and hazard mitigation plans. By evaluating 36 plans from 15 US coastal cities that are considered at high risk and vulnerable to rising sea levels, the results demonstrate that SLR is widely identified, but the overall quality of the plans to address it requires significant improvement. A detailed table of selected plans' characteristics is also provided as a lens on how localities tackle this challenging issue. The paper concludes with planning suggestions for coastal communities to better adapt to SLR.     

SOCIAL FEASIBILITY AS AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH TO WATER RESOURCE PLANNING1

ABSTRACT: Research suggests that conflict over public participation in water resource planning is due, in part, to confusion over the nature of the policies involved. This article examines the roadblocks to citizen involvement in water resource planning in terms of two policy models: (1) the Social Feasibility Model and (2) the Political Feasibility Model. Each model posits a different role for public participation. Although the Political Feasibility Model has been widely accepted in water resource planning, changes in the nature of the policies involved in water resource management have weakened its appropriateness. Currently, social and redistributive policies involving value conflicts often dominate water planning and these policies are best chosen through the Social Feasibility Model. The article discusses the nature of the social feasibility model, the new types of policy decisions facing water resource managers, and how the social feasibility model can help overcome the roadblocks to increased public participation in water resource policy making.     

Municipal hazard mitigation planning: a comparison of plans in British Columbia and the United States

This paper examines the extent to which 20 municipalities in the Greater Vancouver region of British Columbia have included provisions in their community plans for reducing natural hazard risk and vulnerability. Findings show that the plans are generally lacking in hazard related factual information, goals, and policies, and in mechanisms to promote plan implementation. The plans also do not compare favorably to municipal hazard mitigation plans in the United States. The authors provide recommendations for provincial/state and municipal governments with respect to improving the quality of municipal plans and their capacity to enhance public safety.     

IntergovernmentalEnvironmental Planning: Addressing the Commitment Conundrum

Public policies aimed at environmental problems from improper land use typically work through or with the co-operation of local governments. But local governments sometimes fail to appreciate the importance of the environmental issues or programmes announced by higher level governments. In this paper, we use data on mitigation of natural hazards gathered in Florida in the US and New South Wales in Australia to demonstratethat planning mandates can suffer from gaps in local commitment to the environmental goals of higher level governments. Planning mandates must foster higher quality plans and also build supportivelocal political constituencies if they are to overcome this 'commitment conundrum'. We show that the needed improvements in the quality of plans can be fostered through capacity building. Supportive constituencies can be created through programmesthat enhance public awareness of environmental problems and also through provisions of environmental mandates that require local governments to undertake collaborative planning processes with affected stakeholders.     

Problems and Prospects in Local Environmental Assessment: Lessons from the United States

Local environmental assessment (EA), mandated by five US states, has introduced complex management issues for practitioners and policy makers. Based on a review of statutes, case law, and prior EA evaluations,this paper outlines three key issue areas for local EA: linking comprehensive planning and EA; making the threshold determination process more certain; and balancing mitigation with public participation. The paper argues that all the issues reflect a central tension in environmentalassessment between procedural consistency and the need for contingent responses to conditions that differ among the projects to be reviewed.     

Using social network analysis to examine planner involvement in environmentally oriented planning processes led by non-planning professions

Broad stakeholder involvement cannot be assumed in all environmental planning and management processes that have critical land use dimensions. This paper illustrates how concepts and techniques from social network analysis (SNA) can be used to examine and better understand the roles of one type of stakeholders, planners, in environmentally oriented planning and management processes led by other professions. Two cases of natural hazard mitigation planning led by emergency managers illustrate the usefulness of three SNA concepts of network structural characteristics in understanding how differences in planner involvement may influence incorporation of land use approaches in local natural hazard mitigation plans aimed at reducing long term risks from natural hazards.     

Citizen Advisory Groups in Remedial Action Planning: Paper Tiger or Key to Success?

In accordance with the Great Lakes Water Quality agreement and the Great Lakes Critical Protections Act, the Great Lakes States have developed (or are developing) remedial action plans (RAPs) for severely degraded areas of concern (AOCs). To provide citizen input into the planning process, state environmental agencies have established citizens' advisory groups (CAGs) for each AOC. These CAGs have been hailed as the key to RAP success, yet little is known about their role in the planning process. In this paper, we examine the constitution, organization and activities of CAGs in three Lake Michigan AOCs by comparing CAGs to municipal planning commissions, citizen advisory commissions and councils of government. We find that CAGs, like other advisory bodies, can provide public input into the planning process, foster communication between government agencies and special interest groups, and facilitate intergovernmental co-ordination. Also like other advisory bodies, however, CAGs can fail to represent all constituencies in the AOCs, have limited influence on agencies plans and activities, and lack the authority to assure the co-operation of local governments.     

Beyond the Requirements: Improving Public Participation in EIA

Virtually every environmental planner at some time deals with environmental impact assessment (EIA). Public participation is required in most environmental impact assessment programmesaround the world. However, citizen involvement is often reduced to a procedural exercise instead of a substantive process to include the public in environmental decision making. This paper examines public participation in EIA and provides ways to improve its effectiveness. We first examine the rationales for public involvement and its institutionalization through EIA. Next, we analyse the shortcomings and strengths of common approaches to public involvement. Our analysis, supported by two case studies, suggests that going beyond the minimum requirements can benefit the public, the project proponent and the final plan. We conclude with practical steps to improve public participation programmes in environmental planning and decision making.     

Integration of biodiversity in urban planning instruments in developing countries: the case of Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly,Ghana

There is a growing concern about integrating biodiversity into urban planning, yet, discussions are concentrated on science-informed planning in general. Few have explored the integration of biodiversity in specific planning instruments, especially in African cities. This paper examines how and what components of biodiversity are integrated into master plans, medium-term plans, building codes, zoning codes and permits in Kumasi City, Ghana. There is limited integration of biodiversity in most planning instruments as they were mostly designed on the basis of health, safety and economy. Allied to lack of funding and public participation, biodiversity in Kumasi is under significant threat from rapid urban development. Creating an opportunity for popular participation and decentralizing the planning system could set the preconditions for local integration and revision of instruments. Simplifying the definition of biodiversity could increase local planners’ appreciation, understanding and their ability to make use of biodiversity data.     

Public engagement and climate adaptation: insights from three local governments in Australia

Public participation in decision making is a central component of the planning process; however, implementing effective engagement initiatives to resolve complex planning and policy problems, such as climate change, is challenging for planners. These challenges are particularly acute in coastal communities throughout Australia, where many settlements are at risk of future climate perturbations. Using the International Association for Public Participation framework for public participation, we analyse three local government led public participation initiatives in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. Our analysis suggests there are three critical factors that can influence the level of public participation in the context of climate change adaptation: the technocratic approach to decision making; absent high order government support; and the lack of evaluation mechanisms for public participation.     

The role of agency goals and local context in Great Lakes water resources public involvement programs

As complex social phenomena, public involvement processes are influenced by contextual factors. This study examined agency goals for public involvement and assessed the importance of local context in remedial action planning, a community-based water resources program aimed at the cleanup of the 42 most polluted locations in the Great Lakes Basin. Agency goals for public involvement in remedial action plans (RAPs) were agency-oriented and focused on public acceptance of the plan, support for implementation, and positive agency-public relations. Corresponding to these goals, citizen advisory committees were created in 75% of the RAP sites as a primary means for public input into the planning process. Factors that influenced the implementation of public involvement programs in remedial action planning included public orientation toward the remediation issue, local economic conditions, the interaction of diverse interests in the process, agency and process credibility, experience of local leadership, and jurisdictional complexity. A formative assessment of “community readiness” appeared critical to appropriate public involvement program design. Careful program design may also include citizen education and training components, thoughtful management of ongoing agency-public relations and conflict among disparate interests in the process, overcoming logistical difficulties that threaten program continuity, using local expertise and communication channels, and circumventing interjurisdictional complexities.     

Prerequisite conditions for meaningful participation in brownfields redevelopment

Current research in environmental planning supports decision making based on collaborative planning mechanisms. While current research clearly details the limitations to and prerequisites for meaningful public participation in general and for select environmental issues, there is little focus on them in brownfields redevelopment. In practice, the general assumptions are that brownfields redevelopment is an ideally situated policy issue for participatory planning. However, as this paper will illustrate through case study research, there are several situational prerequisites that must be met before there can be meaningful citizen participation in brownfields redevelopment. By highlighting these prerequisites, the author's goal is to mobilize research and policy efforts to overcome those limitations and to foster widespread meaningful participation in the redevelopment of brownfields in residential neighborhoods.     

CHICAGO METROPOLITAN FLOODWATER MANAGEMENT PLAN1

ABSTRACT: The Chicago Metropolitan Floodwater Management Plan is a cooperative planning program under Public Law 566 of the 83rd Congress (The Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act). The planning effort was jointly sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, and the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago. The project is unique in that it studies a 1260 square mile (3266 sq. kilometer) watershed, which is approximately 35 percent urbanized and contains approximately 7.5 million people. At present, approximately 4.4 percent or 330,600 people live in a floodplain. It is presently estimated that 80,000 acres (32,000 ha.) of the study area are subject to flooding with a current average annual damage estimated at approximately $10 million. The Plan which has been developed to reduce or eliminate these damages is divided into six separate watershed plans, and has been developed through extensive use of local citizen watershed steering committees. The paper discusses the planning process, public participation and implementation both at an overall river basin level and watershed case study level.     

Protecting people and property: the influence of land-use planners on flood hazard mitigation in New Urbanist developments

Research suggests that characteristics of local government land-use planners help determine the priority that local communities place on flood hazard mitigation. However, research has not examined the significance of land-use planners' values and role orientations for flood hazard mitigation. Multiple regression analysis is used to examine the influence that land-use planners' values and role orientations have on flood hazard mitigation in a national sample of New Urbanist development projects. Findings indicate that land-use planners' values and role orientations have significant implications for flood hazard mitigation in these projects. The paper recommends that local governments adopt a land-use planning approach to flood hazard mitigation that relies on land-use planners to help direct development away from hazardous portions of development sites.     

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN WATER PLANNING: A CRITIQUE OF THEORY,DOCTRINE, AND PRACTICE1

ABSTRACT. Water development planning has virtually since its beginnings over one hundred fifty years ago utilized a variety of devices for involving segments of the public. But a new insistence for increased public participation, particularly at the Federal level, has stimulated re-examination of objectives and methods for relating water planning to citizen interests and preferences. Involved is partly a recommitment to democratic symbols, partly a recognition that segments of society have been overlooked, and partly a reaction to the pressures of confrontation and demonstration. The rhetoric and polemics of participation have often implied a kind of “town-meeting” process of decision, difficult at best in a nation of 200 million. In water planning more emphasis has been placed on listening to citizens, which has meant providing opportunities for influentials to express their views and preferences. A more adequate approach would seem to require identification of all who are significantly affected by plans and proposals (even though they may not perceive then-interest). But gaining greater participation does not make the planning job easier. It may increase tension and conflict; it may require difficult choices; and it can alter existing power relationships and generate changes with considerable consequences for the agency and its programs.     

PLANNERS AS A PUBLIC IN WATER RESOURCES PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROGRAMS1

This paper suggests a number of benefits in identifying urban and regional planners as a public in public participation programs of water resources planning studies. A perspective on public participation is presented. Recent trends and developing concepts are identified: emphasis on the need to coordinate urban and regional planning activities with water resources planning, increasing system complexity, the goals and objectives orientation of planning, planning for multi-objectives, the evaluation of a broader range of alternatives, and the consideration of water alternatives as only one set of measures to further society's aspirations. One way to assist in capitalizing on these trends is to seek out participation of those in other planning efforts who are involved in planning but on a different level. Because of their intimate knowledge of an areas history, growth and development, political climate, local perceptions of needs and desires, and major problems and issues they are able to contribute a great deal of insight in making the water resources planning effort more responsive at the local level. The paper describes one of the first major efforts at working-level public-planner contact which was carried out as part of the Susquehanna River Basin Study. A regional survey team comprised of an engineer and an economist from a federal agency and a state water resources planner met informally with planners, city managers, and local planning commissions to discuss issues related to water resources and the growth and development of local areas. This effort while only part of the overall public participation program yielded a number of benefits and if expanded and refined would be a very useful experience in other studies.     

Examining Hazard Mitigation Within the Context of Public Goods

/ This paper presents a case study of an American barrier island devastated by a hurricane to show how it is addressing the free-riding problem and protecting its public goods, thereby contributing to hazard mitigation. It examines hazard mitigation and the free-riding problem within the public goods framework. Free-riding is a term used in the public choice theory and common pool resource literature. It is a term used for describing the actions of rational individuals who freely exploit a collective or public good at the expense of others. Free-riding is a major problem faced by public goods. The problem very frequently occurs in the context of hazard mitigation and coastal resource management. Very little is known about the factors that contribute to the promotion of hazard mitigation. This paper identifies some of the important factors that help local institutions provide and sustain hazard mitigation measures. Theoretical and practical implications for hazards research and disaster management policy are presented.