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Citizen Participation in Metropolitan Planning Author(s): Clifford W. Graves Source: Public Administration Review, Vol. 32, No. 3 (May - Jun., 1972), pp. 198-199 Published by: Wiley on behalf of the American Society for Public Administration Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/975271 . Accessed: 14/06/2014 22:44 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . Wiley and American Society for Public Administration are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Public Administration Review. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 185.2.32.60 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 22:44:37 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Citizen Participation in Metropolitan Planning

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Page 1: Citizen Participation in Metropolitan Planning

Citizen Participation in Metropolitan PlanningAuthor(s): Clifford W. GravesSource: Public Administration Review, Vol. 32, No. 3 (May - Jun., 1972), pp. 198-199Published by: Wiley on behalf of the American Society for Public AdministrationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/975271 .

Accessed: 14/06/2014 22:44

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

Wiley and American Society for Public Administration are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve andextend access to Public Administration Review.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 185.2.32.60 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 22:44:37 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Page 2: Citizen Participation in Metropolitan Planning

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW

Commentary of Federal Policies and Practices, op. cit, pp. 42-46.

9. See H. Paul Friesema, "Black Control of Central Cities: The Hollow Prize," Journal of the American

Commentary of Federal Policies and Practices, op. cit, pp. 42-46.

9. See H. Paul Friesema, "Black Control of Central Cities: The Hollow Prize," Journal of the American

Institute of Planners Volume 35 (1969), pp. 75-79. 10. See Paul Davidoff, "Advocacy and Pluralism in

Planning," Journal of the American Institute of Planners, Vol. 31 (1965), pp. 331-33&

Institute of Planners Volume 35 (1969), pp. 75-79. 10. See Paul Davidoff, "Advocacy and Pluralism in

Planning," Journal of the American Institute of Planners, Vol. 31 (1965), pp. 331-33&

CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN METROPOLITAN PLANNING

Clifford W. Graves, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN METROPOLITAN PLANNING

Clifford W. Graves, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Citizen participation means different things to different people. Essentially it is a device to make

government responsive to the needs of all people, particularly those people who are left out of the formal governmental decision-making process.

Most public administrators and planners agree that citizens should be brought into the planning and decision-making process in one way or another. Many members on the boards and staffs of metropolitan regional councils, for example, try to involve citizens in planning and development issues by publishing attractive reports and pam- phlets, scheduling public hearings, conducting sur-

veys and polls, appointing advisory committees, and exhorting the citizenry to "be regionable."

There is, however, only a small number of

regional agencies that can truly claim continuing involvement with all segments of the regional population. Why is this so?

You are a black man in your early 30's, with a wife and four children. You earn $8,000 a year as a mechanic, and you live in "the inner city." You work six days a week, and devote much of your remaining time to your family and to the city's model neighborhood organization, which is work-

ing hard to improve housing conditions and schools in the neighborhood and to reduce the rat

population. Your home was burglarized last night and your eight-year-old son told you he was offered a free sample of heroin on his way home from school this afternoon.

Among the bills and encyclopedia ads in to- day's mail was a brochure from the Metropolitan Coordinating Council of the Smithville Region inviting you to a public meeting 15 miles away next Wednesday afternoon to hear a presentation of the "Preliminary Regional Open Space Plan for the Smithville Region." Will you go?

Citizen participation means different things to different people. Essentially it is a device to make

government responsive to the needs of all people, particularly those people who are left out of the formal governmental decision-making process.

Most public administrators and planners agree that citizens should be brought into the planning and decision-making process in one way or another. Many members on the boards and staffs of metropolitan regional councils, for example, try to involve citizens in planning and development issues by publishing attractive reports and pam- phlets, scheduling public hearings, conducting sur-

veys and polls, appointing advisory committees, and exhorting the citizenry to "be regionable."

There is, however, only a small number of

regional agencies that can truly claim continuing involvement with all segments of the regional population. Why is this so?

You are a black man in your early 30's, with a wife and four children. You earn $8,000 a year as a mechanic, and you live in "the inner city." You work six days a week, and devote much of your remaining time to your family and to the city's model neighborhood organization, which is work-

ing hard to improve housing conditions and schools in the neighborhood and to reduce the rat

population. Your home was burglarized last night and your eight-year-old son told you he was offered a free sample of heroin on his way home from school this afternoon.

Among the bills and encyclopedia ads in to- day's mail was a brochure from the Metropolitan Coordinating Council of the Smithville Region inviting you to a public meeting 15 miles away next Wednesday afternoon to hear a presentation of the "Preliminary Regional Open Space Plan for the Smithville Region." Will you go?

You are a white civil engineer in your late 40's, newly arrived with your family in the Smithville

region where your company transferred you for a

two-year stint. Your kids are enrolled in one of the better private schools a mile and a half from your suburban house. The house is in a new subdivision, with a good shopping center, and your office is an

easy 20 minutes' freeway drive away in the next suburban town. Your wife is a volunteer with the Red Cross, and you both give considerable time and energy to the national effort to preserve our wilderness areas.

When you get home one evening, your wife describes the earnest young man who stopped by that afternoon. He said he was from the Metropoli- tan Coordinating Council of the Smithville Region, which was formulating something called regional goals. "What do we want the Smithville region to be like 20 years from now?"

Your honest answer is probably, "like 2,000 miles away."

You are a retired bank clerk. Your children are on their own, so your modest pension plus Social Security seemed to be sufficient for the wife's and your day-to-day needs, at least until just recently. The home you've lived in for 25 years and finally paid off will be demolished to make room for Interstate 79, and you are trying to find an apartment somewhere nearby. After six months of frantic searching, things look hopeless: housing within your fixed income simply doesn't exist nearby or anywhere else. It looks like you will have to swallow your pride and accept your daughter's offer to move in with her family in California.

This afternoon's newspaper had a small article about last night's meeting of the Metropolitan Coordinating Council of the Smithville Region. The chairman sharply critized a staff proposal to develop a regional housing plan, saying, "There is

You are a white civil engineer in your late 40's, newly arrived with your family in the Smithville

region where your company transferred you for a

two-year stint. Your kids are enrolled in one of the better private schools a mile and a half from your suburban house. The house is in a new subdivision, with a good shopping center, and your office is an

easy 20 minutes' freeway drive away in the next suburban town. Your wife is a volunteer with the Red Cross, and you both give considerable time and energy to the national effort to preserve our wilderness areas.

When you get home one evening, your wife describes the earnest young man who stopped by that afternoon. He said he was from the Metropoli- tan Coordinating Council of the Smithville Region, which was formulating something called regional goals. "What do we want the Smithville region to be like 20 years from now?"

Your honest answer is probably, "like 2,000 miles away."

You are a retired bank clerk. Your children are on their own, so your modest pension plus Social Security seemed to be sufficient for the wife's and your day-to-day needs, at least until just recently. The home you've lived in for 25 years and finally paid off will be demolished to make room for Interstate 79, and you are trying to find an apartment somewhere nearby. After six months of frantic searching, things look hopeless: housing within your fixed income simply doesn't exist nearby or anywhere else. It looks like you will have to swallow your pride and accept your daughter's offer to move in with her family in California.

This afternoon's newspaper had a small article about last night's meeting of the Metropolitan Coordinating Council of the Smithville Region. The chairman sharply critized a staff proposal to develop a regional housing plan, saying, "There is

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Page 3: Citizen Participation in Metropolitan Planning

CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT

no housing problem here."

Besides living in the same metropolitan area, our mythical mechanic, engineer, and retired bank clerk share another important characteristic: the belief that the metropolitan agency is in no way relevant to their problems or aspirations. If this belief is correct - and it probably is - then it is not surprising that they and most other citizens of that region do not bother to participate in that

agency's program, or even try to become familiar with what the agency is.

The citizens of metropolitan America are busy people. They work hard; they have family and other personal interests; and many devote a considerable amount of time to neighborhood associations, civil rights groups, labor unions, local and state politics, conservation groups, youth organizations, charities, etc. A citizen chooses a

particular cause because he believes that cause to be more important to him than any other; and because he feels that his efforts will have some result in the real world. For example, our me- chanic feels that his work with the model neigh- borhood organization will result in more good housing and fewer rats and dope pushers. These are closer-to-home issues than a preliminary open space plan by an agency that lacks the power to

acquire or develop open space. (Even if the agency had such power, the open space would be many miles from the ghetto, close to suburban homes where our mechanic cannot live because of eco- nomic and racial barriers.)

no housing problem here."

Besides living in the same metropolitan area, our mythical mechanic, engineer, and retired bank clerk share another important characteristic: the belief that the metropolitan agency is in no way relevant to their problems or aspirations. If this belief is correct - and it probably is - then it is not surprising that they and most other citizens of that region do not bother to participate in that

agency's program, or even try to become familiar with what the agency is.

The citizens of metropolitan America are busy people. They work hard; they have family and other personal interests; and many devote a considerable amount of time to neighborhood associations, civil rights groups, labor unions, local and state politics, conservation groups, youth organizations, charities, etc. A citizen chooses a

particular cause because he believes that cause to be more important to him than any other; and because he feels that his efforts will have some result in the real world. For example, our me- chanic feels that his work with the model neigh- borhood organization will result in more good housing and fewer rats and dope pushers. These are closer-to-home issues than a preliminary open space plan by an agency that lacks the power to

acquire or develop open space. (Even if the agency had such power, the open space would be many miles from the ghetto, close to suburban homes where our mechanic cannot live because of eco- nomic and racial barriers.)

Until metropolitan institutions are relevant to the lives of citizens, there will be no meaningful metropolitan citizen participation. It is presump- tuous of those of us who advocate metropolitan citizen participation to do so without first demon-

strating relevance. At least two essential conditions for relevance

can easily be identified: concern for immediate issues, and the ability to deliver results. Most

metropolitan planning agencies come off poorly on both accounts.

What is the future of citizen participation in the

Metropolitan Smithville Regional Coordinating Commissions of America? The prospects are not

encouraging if this analysis is correct. Clearly, this concern runs deeper than the citizen participation issue, since if metropolitan agencies are engaged in activities that are not relevant to pressing issues and could not deliver on these issues even if they were concerned, then why should these agencies exist at all?

In their present form, most metropolitan agen- cies are useful as issue-identifiers and study groups. They can pave the way for effective regional solutions appropriate to the problems and oppor- tunities of individual metropolitan areas. This role is an important one, and may be sufficient to justify the existence of metropolitan agencies. But, of course, it is the follow-through, the carrying out of planned solutions, that is the real criterion of effectiveness. Since this is so, it is clear that the present agencies must evolve into stronger institu- tions. As they do, perhaps citizens will find getting involved worthwhile.

Until metropolitan institutions are relevant to the lives of citizens, there will be no meaningful metropolitan citizen participation. It is presump- tuous of those of us who advocate metropolitan citizen participation to do so without first demon-

strating relevance. At least two essential conditions for relevance

can easily be identified: concern for immediate issues, and the ability to deliver results. Most

metropolitan planning agencies come off poorly on both accounts.

What is the future of citizen participation in the

Metropolitan Smithville Regional Coordinating Commissions of America? The prospects are not

encouraging if this analysis is correct. Clearly, this concern runs deeper than the citizen participation issue, since if metropolitan agencies are engaged in activities that are not relevant to pressing issues and could not deliver on these issues even if they were concerned, then why should these agencies exist at all?

In their present form, most metropolitan agen- cies are useful as issue-identifiers and study groups. They can pave the way for effective regional solutions appropriate to the problems and oppor- tunities of individual metropolitan areas. This role is an important one, and may be sufficient to justify the existence of metropolitan agencies. But, of course, it is the follow-through, the carrying out of planned solutions, that is the real criterion of effectiveness. Since this is so, it is clear that the present agencies must evolve into stronger institu- tions. As they do, perhaps citizens will find getting involved worthwhile.

CITIZEN PARTICIPATION-AN EXERCISE IN FUTILITY:

AN ACTION PROGRAM FOR ASPA

Linwood Chatman and David M. Jackson, Capitol East Community Organization

CITIZEN PARTICIPATION-AN EXERCISE IN FUTILITY:

AN ACTION PROGRAM FOR ASPA

Linwood Chatman and David M. Jackson, Capitol East Community Organization

After people have suffered from direct and indirect forms of social, economic, and political discrimination, they begin to make certain obser- vations based upon these experiences. We wish to present two such observations which we believe have been made by many members of nonwhite minority communities today. From the perspec-

The authors wish to thank Peter Shaw for his editorial assistance and advice.

After people have suffered from direct and indirect forms of social, economic, and political discrimination, they begin to make certain obser- vations based upon these experiences. We wish to present two such observations which we believe have been made by many members of nonwhite minority communities today. From the perspec-

The authors wish to thank Peter Shaw for his editorial assistance and advice.

tive of an American Black, Chicano, or Indian, these observations are probably considered as long-demonstrated historical facts. But here, for the sake of discussion, we present them as ap- parent facts believed by many nonwhite minority community members.

1. The Man's System' does not apply to nonwhite minorities. Although this idea may be novel to whites, it is generally accepted among nonwhite, minority communities. As community

tive of an American Black, Chicano, or Indian, these observations are probably considered as long-demonstrated historical facts. But here, for the sake of discussion, we present them as ap- parent facts believed by many nonwhite minority community members.

1. The Man's System' does not apply to nonwhite minorities. Although this idea may be novel to whites, it is generally accepted among nonwhite, minority communities. As community

MAY/JUNE 1972 MAY/JUNE 1972

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This content downloaded from 185.2.32.60 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 22:44:37 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions