Moving away from top-down approaches, contemporary practices embrace more inclusive and participatory models and design processes. Participatory planning, a notion that prioritizes involving the entire community in the decision-making process, has earned widespread recognition and popularity globally. Cities across the world have interpreted participatory planning to fit their unique needs, using technology and government resources to expedite and enhance the process.
People should be the heart of any urban planning. Challenging traditional top-down approaches that marked early urban planning efforts, participatory planning has materialized as a democratizer of design. At its core, participatory planning stresses the active involvement of all members of a user group in shaping the development of their physical and social spaces. Collaboration with the entire community in the strategic and management process of urban planning gives rise to systems-level benefits.
