Principles of Public Involvement

A meaningful planning process will include an ongoing program of public involvement integrated throughout the planning process. One apparent problem for planners is the lack of ready guidance in forming such programs of public involvement (PI). This paper suggests eight general principles: (1)Diverse objectives may be sought through the use of a PI program; (2)PI should contribute to formulation of alternatives and completion of the plan; (3)PI must be an integral part of all stages of the planning process; (4)PI programs have important limits; (5)the PI program must be part of the overall process of planning; (6)a PI program must be completely honest; (7)media selection is an important consideration; and (8)planners must empathize with the various interested publics.