Citizen Participation in Shaping Urban form in India

This research paper aims to understand the effect of Citizen Participation on the Planning process and its impact on the Urban Form of the city, specific to the context of Indian Cities. Citizen Participation means allowing people to be involved in the planning and development of the city and shaping their urban environment. Participatory Urban Planning directly engages the citizens in policy-making or planning decisions, where citizens act as experts and stakeholders that complement the technical know-how of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). The paper talks about the existing provisions made in the Indian governance system for citizen participation, like those made under the 74th Constitutional Amendment, in the URDPFI and the RADPFI Guidelines, the Community Participation Law, and a brief discussion about Participatory Planning as an SDG Goal. Through a questionnaire survey and testimonial, this paper also discusses the people’s perception of participatory planning. Since the effects of Participatory planning can be seen at different scales, hence, two broader scales, i.e., the Master Plan or Development Plan Scale and the Neighborhood scale, have been taken for this research. Gendered notions of people’s participation have also been discussed. Understanding the stages at which citizens must participate in the planning process and the extent of their involvement has also been one of the objectives of this paper. In conclusion, this research paper aims to give an overview of how Citizen Participation can affect the Urban Form of a city in different ways and different scales through various degrees of involvement. The research can further be used to design Participatory planning toolkits to empower the role of citizens in the Urban Planning process.