Citizen Participation, Design Competition and the Product in Urban Design: Insights from the Orange County Great Park

The purpose of this study is to determine the contribution of citizen participation and urban design competitions to the quality and outcomes of urban design projects. Urban design projects sometimes involve citizen participation and a design competition before a proposal is accepted for implementation. Although there is considerable literature on citizen participation and on design competitions, there is scant empirical research on the implications of the process for the product. A case study approach was used, in which the author evaluated data collected from a multi-phase citizen participation process and an international design competition for the design of the Great Park in Irvine, California. The design elements proposed by citizens during the citizen participation process and those proposed by the professionals in their competition entries were analyzed for their contribution to the quality of design of the project. The research reveals that, while these processes consume considerable financial and non-financial resources, the citizen participation by itself contributes commonplace ideas and is inadequate for achieving excellence in urban design projects. The paper concludes with recommendations to make the process more effective to achieve optimal results for the product.