The role of local officials in promoting public participation during local urban planning processes: Evidence from Chinese cities

Even though the importance of public participation in urban planning has been thoroughly discussed in European and North American planning circles, it is still a new topic in China. Top-down planning processes are dominant in China, yet local officials are empowered to determine the extent and nature of public participation during local planning processes. To date, few scholars have explored how local decision-makers use this authority or which elements factor into the strategies they choose. Our analysis of master plans from 129 of China’s county-level cities shows that the age, overseas education experiences, and professional experiences of local officials have a significant effect on their decisions related to promoting public participation during the planning process, while their education level, Party school experience, and political career experience do not. We conclude that older-age local officials with overseas study experience, or with a background in technology or academia, tend to have a greater interest in promoting public participation in the process of crafting local master plans. We finally conclude with three insights that aim to enhance public participation in urban planning and land use management policy making: (1) Increased international communications and specific empirical case studies of public participation for officials; (2) Standardization of public participation in the planning and management processes; and (3) Utilization of more user-friendly online resources to expand public involvement and highlight the potential benefits for officials.