URBAN DESIGN POLICY /
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The Challenges of Citizen Participation

Brian Christens and Daniel Cooper
PhD Students in Community Research and Action, Department of Human and Organizational Development, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University

The process of residents getting together with architects and planners to decide how they want their city to develop represents a relatively new orientation. Decisions about urban planning and development in the United States have traditionally been limited to the financially and politically powerful, and the professionals they hire. In fact, most of the developments that characterize Nashville--such as urban renewal and transportation infrastructure--were not based on any sort of public consensus, but were the result of decisions made from the top.

The Nashville Civic Design Center-- like other organizations employing innovative methodologies in urban design--has used its resources to push for an expanded role for people of diverse backgrounds in the planning of their city. The Plan of Nashville process is an example of the incorporation of citizen participation in the determination of a city's future. The staff and volunteers of the design center went out to the neighborhoods and asked questions, attempted to build consensus, then shaped the preferences and ideas with their own expertise.

Working for deeper democracy in an entrenched system of power, though, is never easy. Processes like this raise interesting questions. For instance, who were these residents that came to the meetings when the decisions were made? What was the nature of their experience? What about the people who didn't or couldn't show up? Were they aware of the meetings? Were some important viewpoints excluded from the process? What about disagreements? How is it possible to tell when residents have truly reached consensus, and when only the opinions of a particular demographic or vested interest are being captured?

The questions will multiply as this book is published and Nashville continues to grow and develop. Will the residents that contributed their efforts to the process recognize this new vision, which has been adapted by architects and designers? Will neighborhoods use the Plan to advocate for development that fits this vision? Will they stand up against those who do not develop according to the vision? Will they be successful in efforts to influence the city's development process? How closely will the Nashville of the future resemble this collective vision of what it could be?

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