Toward Participation-Based Urban Planning and Development: Evaluating Participatory Revitalization in Middle Oudlajan Neighborhood of Tehran
Publication: Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Volume 146, Issue 4
Abstract
Public participation as an alternative paradigm in planning theory is consequently a key challenge in planning practice regarding interactive and collaborative versus rational and top-down decision-making approaches. Hence, this paper aims to define this concept theoretically and then to evaluate it practically. Based on the relevant views and research, public participation has been considered through three main dimensions of “inclusiveness and incentive structures,” “information exchange and provision of lay knowledge,” and “sense of ownership and influence on decision-making.” This threefold conceptualization has also been further explored by 10 subdimensions or measures to explain precisely the specific aspects of community participation. “Transparency and accessibility,” “fairness or equal contribution,” “effectiveness and efficiency,” and “negotiation” are the most significant subdimensions. Thus, the concept of public participation has been evaluated in the Oudlajan market (Bazarcheh) in Tehran, where a supposedly participatory revitalization project has been implemented. This evaluation relies on the views of 117 market traders as respondents, using the analytical hierarchy process method. Accordingly, the overall status of the public participation in the Oudlajan project with a score of 2.56 based on a 5-point Likert-type scale is evaluated as between low and average. This finding implies that while the Oudlajan Market Revitalization Plan may seem participatory, it has serious shortcomings, especially according to the actual affected community or group.
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Acknowledgments
We thank our two master students in Urban Heritage Conservation, Zahra Naziri and Zahra Hosseini, for their assistance with the field survey of the study. In addition, we thank our colleagues and other university professors who collaborated in the weighting process through the AHP method. We are also immensely grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their supportive comments as well as constructive remarks.
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Published In
Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Volume 146 • Issue 4 • December 2020
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 22, 2018
Accepted: May 19, 2020
Published online: Aug 19, 2020
Published in print: Dec 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Jan 19, 2021
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