A study of factors influencing public officials and city planners to engage citizens in governmental land-use decisions

Citizen involvement or participation in administrative decisions has been discussed extensively in the urban affairs literature. Many studies have focused on the importance of genuine public deliberation and ways of actively involving citizens in governmental decisions. A dearth of empirical research exists investigating reasons public administrators and elected or appointed officials engage citizens in land-use decision making. A considerable number of scholars and sectors of the general public believe public administrators and officials engage citizens in policy making only to fulfill legislative mandates. These skeptics believe public officials and administrators have no authentic interest in citizen participation in and influence of governmental decision making. This study examines the reasons public officials and city planners engage the public in governmental land-use decisions. It explores whether public officials and city planners engage citizens only to fulfill legislative mandates or to benefit from the values associated with citizen participation. It presents results of survey data obtained from elected and appointed officials and city planners in ten county-seat cities in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area. Study results show a number of cities engage the public in land-use decision making; however, both public officials and city planners minimally expect the public to influence their decisions. Most city planners and public officials acknowledge the importance of engaging citizens in land-use decisions; however, they believe citizens do not possess adequate knowledge to make meaningful recommendations to help them make effective land-use decisions. Knowing the reasons and perceptions of public officials and city planners regarding citizen participation in land-use decisions is essential because it informs public administrators about the level of resources they may need to actively engage citizens in influencing their decision making. Understanding the reasons for public officials' interest in engaging citizens also informs the public of the level of participation that may be needed to influence elected or appointed officials' land-use decisions.