Environmental Regulation and Public Participation in Project Planning

Public projects cannot be planned in a vacuum. Planners must assess the overall impact that proposed courses of action may have on the environment and on surrounding communities, exploring alternative approaches, comparing the environmental consequences of all options, and actively soliciting the input of community members who stand to be affected by the change. This paper presents an overview of environmental legislation regulating project planning in both the United States and the European Community. Although citizen participation, which promotes responsible planning in accord with social realities, is recognized as an important element of the impact assessment process, the appendix in this paper depicts the dangers inherent in requiring planners to open the process to the public. A case study on the Westway highway project in New York City highlights the problem and suggests an avenue for reform.