Participation and the pandemic: how planners are keeping democracy alive, online

A ‘planning revolution’ or an ‘attack on planning’ in England: digitization, digitalization, and democratization

“…Planning-democracy mix Rzeszewski and Kotus (2019, 56) inform, '[i]n the field of spatial planning, the issue of public participation is increasingly important'. Across international planning space, five decades of experiments with citizen engagement and empowerment in the planning process reveal 'a variable degree of success' (Jankowski et al 2019, 512;also Haklay, Jankowski, and Zwoliński 2018;Hemmersam et al 2015;Milz and Gervich 2021;Levenda et al 2020). Back in the late 1960s, Arnstein (1969) argued public participation is the 'cornerstone of democracy'.…”

“…Back in the late 1960s, Arnstein (1969) argued public participation is the 'cornerstone of democracy'. In the UK, a frequent criticism is that the participation process is 'hard to understand' and 'engage with' (Baker, Coaffee, and Sherriff 2007; on these and other limitations in Poland see Jankowski et al 2019; in America see Milz and Gervich 2021). Although more collaborative and participatory approaches have been introduced into the planning process, the role of and mechanisms used for engaging the public in planning remain in a state of 'constant flux' (Wilson, Vigar, and Tewdwr-Jones 2020).…”

“…Going back to Arnstein (1969), this involves not just looking at levels of involvement, but rather the quality of involvement and genuine impact this has on plan-making. Importantly, digital technology has, over time, been introduced into the planning-democracy mix across international planning space to broaden involvement in planning decision-making (Batty 2021;Levenda et al 2020;Milz and Gervich 2021;Kitchin, Young, and Dawkins 2021;Porter et al 2019;Rzeszewski and Kotus 2019;Young, Kitchin, and Naji 2021). However, as Jankowski et al (2019, 513) report, 'despite numerous potential benefits, online methods might not be, after all, a panacea for … improving the quality of public participation processes'.…”

“…There is an important historical context to the use of various technologies in city life 4 around the world (for overviews see Ash, Kitchin, and Leszczynski 2018;Batty 2021;Foth et al 2009;Gordon, Schirra, and Hollander 2011;Kitchin 2014;Porter et al 2019). Post-2000 ushered in a digital turn (Ash, Kitchin, and Leszczynski 2018), as the debate over public participation and citizen empowerment focused on ICT (Hanzl 2007;McCall and Dunn 2012;Milz and Gervich 2021). Batty (2021, 525) explains the 'millennium really does mark a major transition to a society based on many computable devices from the phone to the supercomputer but also with the embedding of computers into the very fabric of society itself'.…”

“…unsafe). Resultantly, many of these opportunities for meeting have shifted online (MHCLG 2020;Milz and Gervich 2021). Our analysis has three parts.…”