Research project MD/DD/15 (Research action MD)
Research objectives
This research proposal focuses on the enhancement of public involvement in transport projects and programs. It is maintained that the inclusion of all groups affected by transport projects into the planning process will distinctively improve the quality and effectiveness of these projects - and in this way their sustainability - for various reasons. In the United States, the Netherlands and other countries, planning departments are increasingly aware of the crucial role of the public in transport projects for the success of the planning process. Therefore, they are currently seeking for new tools to cope with the renewed role of citizens affected by transport projects and programs. This proposal wants to introduce this important turn in transport planning in the Belgium context both on a theoretical and an empirical level. Two new concepts will be developed in order to fullfil these aims.
Theoretically, the concept of ‘collaborative planning’, recently developed by several leading Anglosaxon planning theorists, is presented as a social and technical practice through which those concerned with and those affected by the quality of transport systems and projects collaborate to produce and implement strategies, policies and plans to help guide specific decisions in order to regulate, to manage and to invest in sustainable transport. Collaborative planning is inherently inclusive in that it seeks to involve all user groups into the planning process.
The concept of ‘collaborative planning’ will be further developed, adjusted and applied to the Belgian transport planning field.
Empirically, the main focus of the research will be on the development of the practical counterpart of ‘collaborative planning’, i.e. the concept of ‘public involvement profile’. It refers to a set of collaborative planning tools and instruments which vary according to different types of transport programs and projects. The different ‘public involvement profiles’ are related to :
- The type of the transport project or program
- The phase of the program or project management : strategic decisions, operational decisions, implementation, etc.
- Different user groups and their needs (economic functions, inhabitants, visitors, ...)
- The scale level (local, subregional, regional, national, international)
- The level of communication and collaboration : information, interactive communication, participation, referenda, etc.
The development of ‘public involvement profiles’ will be the actual output of the project. These profiles will be presented in such a way that they can be readily implemented in concrete transport projects.
The final aim of the research proposal is the promotion of the use of ‘public involvement profiles’ in concrete transport policies and projects through wide-ranging dissemination of research results and through concrete consultancy work for interested local governments and institutions.
Methodology
Due to the specificity of the topic, both data sources and research output will mainly be qualitative, and, where useful, quantitative. Central to the approach is the development of pragmatic, policy-oriented ‘public involvement profiles’ which will enable policy makers to increase and professionalize public involvement in transport planning. Four complementary methods will be used to develop these ‘public involvement profiles’.
Firstly, a literature review will provide an analytical framework which will be at the heart of the research project. Secondly, case studies of several transport programs and projects will be carried out to investigate what is the role of public involvement and who were the “winners and losers” of the planning process that took place. Secondly, a Delphi survey will allow to collect opinions, ideas and viewpoints on public involvement of Belgian and foreign experts on transport and communication strategies. A Delphi survey takes place in several rounds, so that the participating experts can be confronted with the main research findings of the previous survey round. This enables them to reflect upon others’ viewpoints and eventually adjust their own viewpoint. This method allows to evolve towards a qualitative consensus among experts about the role and importance of public involvement in transport programs and projects. Thirdly, the research results of the previous research steps will be tested in an ongoing transport project. Fourthly, an expert panel will be consulted at the end of each research step in order to tune and refine the research output. These methods will allow the research to produce results which can be readily implemented in concrete transport policies.
Potential users
The outcomes of the project are aimed to a wide field of users.
1. Transport-providers: local, regional and state government departments and public enterprises in the field of transport policy.
2. Transport-users: institutionalized and non-institutionalized groups and organisations (in relation to certain transport modes,…), etc.
3. Experts on the field (in a broader sense): transport consultants, educational institutions, etc.
4. The development of a manual of public involvement profiles (2000-2001) will support the dissemination of the final research results to the categories mentioned above and to a broader public.
Link to Sustainable Development
The project will make transport programs and projects more sustainable in two ways.
1. Transport concerns of all groups of citizens will be better integrated into the planning process, so that transport programs and projects do not 'blow up' in the end due to ill-conceived public involvement. This will lead to financial, political and social advantages in transport planning.
2. The Brundtland-report, which is still the leading theoretical framework for the implementation of sustainable development, strongly focuses upon the need for more socio-economic equality as a necessary condition for sustainable development. In very much the same way, the enhancement of more equal transport policies by means of more effective public involvement strategies, will form the base for a more sustainable transport future
Mondig in mobiliteit: eindverslag
Brussel: DWTC, 2001 (SP0885)
[To download]
Op zoek naar effectieve publieke betrokkenheid in verkeers- en vervoersplanning: syntheserapport
Brussel: DWTC, 2001 (SP0886)
[To download]
In pursuit of effective public involvement in transportation and traffic planning: synthesis report
Brussels: OSTC, 2001 (SP0887)
[To download]
