Public Involvement Essay Example

Community needs assessment

It is one of the factors that facilitated the development of Leicester city and not any other economic center. Planning is usually political as everyone has his/her opinion towards the future outcomes. The best option was to come up with a city which encompasses the majority of the requirements to fulfill the needs of the majority. Every individual has a different opinion compared to the other thus the political nature of planning. The universal character of human beings is to place their personal interest before that of the society. Through planning, therefore, the needs of the society together with that of the community is likely to be considered in the projected plans.

Contrary to this, consider Urban regeneration project in Glasgow 2014. Citizens were forcefully evicted to create space for the construction of Athletes village, four months before Common Wealth games. (Gray &Porter, 2015, p. 384). In this particular project, Compulsory Purchase Orders were issued, an approach that is against human right which could only be stopped through direct public intervention. It implies that only the needs of the government were put into consideration and not that of the community. Like the Occurrence in Leicester city and the Cowley road project in Oxford (Brownil &Carpenter, 2007, p. 404), consultation is imperative as it safeguards the interest of both parties.

Response to social problems

Public involvement at a time may be critical in solving some of the challenges existing in the community. A good example is the fact that Leicester City has now grown to the current level. Some of the issues that may emerge may include theft, pollution, and rapid population increase. Through proper planning and public involvement, some of these matters are likely to be erased completely. The public is the cause of the problem, and therefore, if they are involved in planning to end the problems, they are likely to change the act for the benefit of the community. Macleod details, Duany's powerful and influential role of new urbanism and his signatory charrette as a participatory method of engaging citizens in the new urbanist practice of place- making YU (Macleod, 2013, p. 2196). Considering Macleod's position, a similar strategy is relevant to what should be applied in Leicester city as it enhances awareness among the community members. At least majority will be informed thereby making it easier to solve any problem that may emerge in the city. The procedure applied by Duany in the Scottish Highland as explained by Macleod involves gathering people and informing them of the matters of concern. This act is imperative and of bigger relevance to Leicester city.

Research methodology

In carrying out the study, the following methods were applied:

- Neighborhood questionnaire

- Vision workshop

Neighborhood Questionnaire

Under this method, the local authority specialist prepared a door to door questionnaire foe a sampled group of people. The aim was to capture as much information as possible from the public.

Strengths

1. Large number of information collected from a big population within a short period of time hence cost effective

2. Required less manpower without distorting its validity and reliability.

3. Collected data made it easy for comparison and contrast

4. Qualitative data collected assisted in formulation of hypothesis in relation to the perceptions of the community.

Weaknesses

1. Some information could not be understood as a result of emotional influence.

2. The response may be unable to think within the context of the question.

3. The information lacked validity.

4. Response is based on the understanding of the people.

Vision Workshop

Strengths

1. Community members were able to question and seek clarifications

2. Assurance of partnership and support from the community

3. Direct interaction between the community members and project leaders

4. Focus on community demands emphasized.

Weaknesses

1. Low number of attendance by the community members

2. Few questions and clarifications made due to insufficient time.

3. One on one interaction is not possible and therefore personal issues cannot be addressed.

The importance of community

Effectiveness of the project

From the implementation of the project, milestones were made which were to be assessed at a given point in time. The project is ongoing and full sustainable development has not been achieved yet. Currently, and based on the findings, there has been a greater impact of the project to the society as far as environmental infrastructure, social and economic life is concerned (Roberts,2001, p. 4). So far, it is a success as all the milestones of the project has been achieved to completion.

Conclusion

In summary, public is the most drive considered before any project is started by any institution whether public or private. During planning, the position of the public must be considered as they are the key determinant of the success or failure of the company. A successful project must begin with a public consultation so as to understand what the people think about it without acting ambitiously and ending up in losses. Contrary to the position taken by the government, involvement of the public in planning procedures is paramount just as it was in the case of Leicester city. A community deprived and infested with high unemployment rates changing to become one of the towns in the United Kingdom aspiring to achieve sustainability. The success of the project is entirely directed to the willingness of the public, government and co-partners not forgetting investors. Therefore, it is clear that public involvement can be efficient in meeting the demands of the community, ensuring transparency and legitimacy of the projects. Also, effective in enhancing citizenship, providing maintenance of the ethical standards and protection of the interests of the public.

Social problems related to corruption, embezzlement of funds and poor quality jobs can only occur if the public is not involved. It is, therefore, more beneficial for the public to be represented by majority especially the community members. Public participation in comparison to government domination reflects more advantages to the people. It is in this respect that people needs to be aware of their position regarding the developments implemented by the government. By right and accordance to the constitution, the public especially the concerned community should benefit greatly out of the area projects before any external parties are put into consideration.

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