Public participation in urban development projects : a systematic cross-disciplinary literature review

• Urbanisation induces both challenges and opportunities for sustainable development. Cities are developed through urban development projects (UDPs), which enable sustainable development and provide valuable services to citizens. Although previous research has shown that citizens have knowledge that can facilitate the planning and implementation of UDPs, it not known how—and to what extent—citizens are engaged by municipal and private actors initiating such projects. Consequently, we carried out a systematic cross-disciplinary literature review focusing on the involvement of the public in UDPs. Based on the final sample of 75 articles, our analysis reveals 16 distinct mechanisms of public participation, which differ with respect to the initiating actor(s), project-life-cycle phase, role of citizens and depth of participation. We find that most mechanisms involve members of the public in peripheral roles, limiting the potential for further value creation. In addition, most of the mechanisms are applied during the planning phase of the project life cycle. Although several mechanisms are used during the front-end phase, we find that very few mechanisms are used in the later phases of the life cycle. The paper contributes to a more nuanced understanding urban development projects by problematising citizen participation and mapping the related mechanisms.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Företagsekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Business Administration (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

public participation

participation mechanism

stakeholder engagement

urban development projects

systematic literature review

sustainability

Företagsekonomi

Business Studies

Urban and Regional Studies

Urbana och regionala studier

Industrial Economics and Management

Industriell ekonomi och organisation

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

ovr (ämneskategori)