Reframing Participatory Planning

The book provides a grounded and interdisciplinary analysis of the effectiveness of community participation in urban planning practice in multicultural Australia. The book engages with existing and emerging debates on participation in urban planning and provides fresh evidence to show how and why community participation is problematic, particularly in the context of the status quo of top-down decision-making, neglect of social capital, and marginalisation of diverse community groups. The book provides ways to empower local communities, particularly disadvantaged groups, to ensure representation and accountability in planning practice. The book offers critical guidance on effective community participation for multicultural communities, planners, and development practitioners.

Zeenat Mahjabeen, PhD, teaches at the University of New South Wales, Australia. She is an environmental sociologist specialising in urban governance, community participation, climate justice, and environmental planning. Her research focuses on participatory urban planning, climate change resilience, and the inclusion of disadvantaged communities in international policy across Australia and South Asia. She has previously served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Dhaka and as a Research Officer at the Healthy People and Places Unit, South Western Sydney Local Health District (SWSLHD), Australia.  

Krishna K. Shrestha is Professor of Global Development at the UNSW ADA School of Social Sciences. He is a development and environmental geographer with research interests encompassing: Global Indigenous Studies; Critical Development Studies; Urban Planning and Policy; Environmental Governance; Disaster Resilience, and Climate Change Adaptation, in particular, the intersection of these six with his work on  Environmental Justice . He is the founder of the Indigenous Knowledge Lab (IKL). His scholarship works alongside a commitment to activism and public engagement, and addresses urgent questions pertaining to indigenous rights, climate justice, public policy, the right to land and the everyday and systemic struggles that continue to dominate the lives of the most marginalised communities in the world.