Participatory Planning

By the end of the 20th century these arguments were being taken seriously. Instead of demolition, the emphasis became on rehabilitation of the existing buildings and neighbourhoods. The participatory mode became honoured in some cities. Involving the people—public participation signifies spreading and deepening of democracy.

It is also seen that where the government is authoritarian, so is planning. For example, China in preparation for the Beijing Olympics of 2008 engaged in major displacement of its population to construct roads and sports facilities.

The flip side of this participatory approach is that when all the ‘stakeholders’ are consulted rich people might veto and stall constructing affordable housing in fear that such construction will lower their property value. In the language of social movement theory this is known as “Not in My Backyard”( NIMBY).⁴