Fairness and Competence in Citizen Participation - Evaluating Models for Environmental Discourse

A vital issue facing the citizens and governments of modern democracies is the direct participation of the public in the solution of environmental problems. Governments are increasingly experimenting with approaches that give citizens a greater say in the environmental debate. Fairness and Competence in Citizen Participation addresses a crucial question: How can we measure the performance of the citizen participation process? A novel approach to the problem is taken by viewing public participation as an act of communication. Drawing on Jürgen Habermas' Critical Theory of Communication, a normative framework is developed around the central area of citizen participation and competence in knowledge verification. A milestone on the road of citizen participation and applied critical theory, the book provides a sound theoretical and methodological basis for the systematic evaluation of models for environmental discourse. Eight models of citizen participation are studied, from North America and Europe. Each model is evaluated and criticized in paired chapters written by prominent scholars.
Audience: Planners and citizens alike will find pragmatic advice in the evaluations.