‘I plan, you participate’: A southern view of community participation in urban Australia

Author: Lahiri-Dutt K.

Source: Community Development Journal, Volume 39, Number 1, January 2004 , pp. 13-27(15)

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Abstract:

Community participation, an imperative ingredient in any intervention, in spite of all the recent emphasis, it has continued to remain a form of collective bargaining. Instead of reversing its position in face of community opposition, governments are tempted to reinforce it by seeking the scientific opinion from experts. By favouring this opinion as the rational approach, the government undermines the essence of community participation. To illustrate this point, the paper traces the recent history of M5 East Motorway Tunnel Exhaust Stack located in a residential area of Sydney. I show how, between two modes of knowledge systems of two groups opposing each other, a privileging process subordinates citizens' preferences and understandings to those held by experts. Thus the process of participation becomes circumscribed by the government's implicit preferences that are imposed on the community in the name of a more ‘scientific’ view irrespective of citizen opinions.

Document Type: Research article

Publication date: 2004-01-01

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Published four times a year and circulated in over 80 countries, the Community Development Journal provides an international forum for political, economic and social programmes, which link the activities of people with institutions and government. Dealing with the theory and practice of the policies, programmes and methods employed, the Community Development Journal covers a wide range of topics including community action, village, town, and regional planning, community studies and rural development.