E-Participation in Urban Planning: Online Tools for Citizen Engagement in Poland and in Germany

Simple observation of planning practices in Eastern and Western Europe reveal a substantial gap in citizen participation between the post-socialist societies and the highly developed countries. This gap was created recently during the continent’s history and is reflected in an uneven distribution of social capital and democratic attitudes. During the last 30 years Western societies developed their civic consciousness and improved their democratic procedures; while citizen activities in the East was constrained by socialist regimes, then dissipated by the system transformation and only now is slowly reviving. How can social and political distance? Development of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) tools seems to stimulate social cohesion of European countries. The Internet creates new forms of social life, giving new opportunities for citizen involvement and strongly influences public decision-making systems. Examples of e-participation in planning from both sides of the continent suggest that this gap is not necessarily as big as it appears to be. This article compares online participation tools offered in Poland and Germany. Analyzing three complimentary aspects of e-participation in planning: “transparency,” “spatiality,” and “interactivity.” The results are expressed further in the article.