Making it Count

Public consultation has become a major part of planning in the last forty years and much has been written on the subject. This article reviews the writing generated over the past two decades and breaks it into sections respecting the theory and rationale behind consultation, the conceivable approaches to engage the public, and the means available to analyze and evaluate consultative efforts. Conclusions relevant to academics and practitioners are drawn as are suggestions from the authors concerning the principal gaps that needed to be filled in order for planners to have reliable tools to evaluate the effectiveness of consultative processes.