Informalizing Participation: Insights from Chicago and Johannesburg

Abstract

This paper argues that formal participation in planning remains simplistic and enhances community conflict. The increasing diversity of the public makes traditional forms of representation increasingly problematic. There is a need to situate formal participation within increasingly informal forms of participation between state and citizens. Qualitative research in Chicago and Johannesburg illustrates the difficulties caused by formal participation but calls for more complex and sympathetic analyses of communities. The representative nature of those voices can often be a cause for concern; without the means to assess the nature or quality of representations, planners and others are faced with dilemmas in harnessing collective voice.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the interviewees of Uptown and Troyeville who gave of their time so generously and the reviewer and editor comments that helped this article immensely. Thanks also to David Imbroscio for advice on revising this paper and Amanda LeDuke for all-important editorial assistance. The Department of Town and Regional Planning, Sheffield, University of the West of England, and College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, University of Illinois, Chicago provided funding and support for this research.