Engagement, but for what kind of marriage? Community members and local planning authorities

In recent years there has been an international trend to encourage greater participation by community members in making decisions over local developments. A small study of the experiences of community activists residing in the City of Moreland (Australia) indicates that existing political and econom...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Community development journal 2008-01, Vol.43 (1), p.37-51
Main Authors: Nelson, Anitra, Babon, Andrea, Berry, Mike, Keath, Nina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Australia
Bureaucracy
Community participation
Decision making
Democracy
Engagement
Governance
Local government
Neighbourhoods
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:In recent years there has been an international trend to encourage greater participation by community members in making decisions over local developments. A small study of the experiences of community activists residing in the City of Moreland (Australia) indicates that existing political and economic structures are neither flexible nor supportive of greater, substantive, democracy. Indeed the kinds of barriers reported at the grassroots suggest that deep reforms in the traditional patterns of engagement between political and bureaucratic authorities and neighbourhood communities are necessary in order to enhance the power of community members. This analysis of community engagement practices draws a parallel between the multi-various scales of struggles necessitated for women's liberation and the breadth of reforms necessary for neighbourhood residents to achieve greater power in decision making over local developments. Reprinted by permission of Oxford University Press
ISSN:0010-3802
DOI:10.1093/cdj/bs1038