Assessing Public Participation in U.S. Cities

P ublic participation is advocated to reduce citizen cynicism toward government, build stakeholder consensus in government, and enhance administrative decision making (Creighton, 1981; King Langton, 1978a; Sanoff, 2000). Participation theories have been presented and examined in research. Case descriptions or stories in individual governmental agencies are often used to support theoretical assertions. Empirical evidence is needed about participation in government as a whole. Studies involving larger samples of governments can generate more holistic and systematic evidence. Using survey data, this study focused on three research questions: How much public participation occurs in U.S. municipal governments? What are the possible causes of participation? What are the possible impacts of participation on governmental agencies? This research provides useful information about potential obstacles to participation and ways to enhance participation and performance in government. The Framework section presents relevant definitions and theories.