Perspektiv på allmänhetens deltagande : Fallstudie

Sammanfattning: In a democratic society, public participation will be realized when actions in the environment are to be implemented. Public consultation is a statutory process where the public shall be given the opportunity to transparency and influence, which can be provided to different extent. The aim of this essay was to examine perceptions of participation from a consultation meeting on a public plan for an area in a suburb of Stockholm that results in environmental changes. The experiences of officials and participants of the meeting were compared to provide an overview of the purposes of participation that existed for the two parties, and in which ways they were met. A qualitative approach was used to gain a deeper understanding of the respondents’ experiences. Since the consultation meeting was a delimited phenomenon, this essay was conducted as a case study, with interviews as the data collection method. The result was analyzed through the explanatory models of Arnstein's ladder of participation (1969), and identified goals with public participation by Glucker et al. (2013). The result showed in which ways and to what extent the public experienced participation. Similarities and differences in the perceived participation rate were compared to identify whether the parties’ experiences were equivalent. The causes and effects of similarities and differences were examined. The essay also addresses the obstacles and opportunities that contributed to the perceived degree of participation and what areas the parties considered in need of improvement in order to strengthen public participation.