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Volume 1, Issue 1, 2007Public Participation as Mediated Negotiation: Entangled Promises and PractisesJohn Forester Recently, in my graduate city planning class, my students read Sherry Arnstein’s 1969 classic, ‘A Ladder of Citizen Participation’. Though some of the examples in her article might seem dated, the idea of a ‘ladder’ remains relevant and fresh. Not all ‘participatory processes’ are equal; they vary in how they might suit different problems and circumstances, in their complexity, and in their effectiveness. Indeed, some hold out false promises; some appear threatening to public officials; and only a small number actually create power-sharing partnerships. Yet the study of public participation remains every bit as fascinating as the practise of it can be exasperating. Though often we see great promise squandered, and even as we watch conventional public hearings frustrate citizens, demoralise officials, and breed cynicism in everyone, we also witness inspiring successes—Ken Reardon’s work with the East St. Louis Action Research Project, for example—and we keep hope alive.
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