Public deliberation in the planning process: Identification of barriers preventing access to and influence on the local planning policy process

Planning acknowledges the necessity of securing public comments on proposals and land use applications. Scholars often refer to deliberative democracy as the discursive model planning practice should emulate. Deliberative democracy is a political system founded on the open, barrier-free discourse of citizens on public issues. The literature on deliberative democracy recognizes existing barriers to open discussions among citizens, however, no specific identification of barriers to deliberation in the local planning policy process appears. This study undertakes the identification of barriers to deliberation in the local public planning policy process. The concept of barriers is an extension of Jurgen Habermas's "distortions." This study evaluated the perceptions and actions of 320 property owners in Poplar Bluff and Butler County, Missouri. A survey was distributed containing 66 items to ascertain perceptions on the concepts of deliberative democracy and government and specific actions taken by property owners in response to notification of opportunities to participate in deliberations on planning proposals and land use applications in public hearings. The data provided adequate evidence to substantiate the basic hypothesis: If property owners affected by local planning agency action do not deliberate the issue in an open, public forum, then the primary barrier or "distortion" to deliberation is lack of information. Four (4) variables were found to be predictors of a willingness to deliberate: (1) lack of education, (2) lack of information, (3) lack of influence and (4) disability. This study postulates that these predictors are perceived as barriers to deliberation. In addition, direct impact on a property was found to be the primary factor in fostering deliberation or participatory activities. These findings are significant because identification of barriers to deliberation provides an opportunity to create mechanisms to alleviate or neutralize factors perceived as barriers to citizen involvement in the local public planning policy process.