A Ladder of Citizen Participation

The case of self-built communities explains citizens' self-organizational abilities and how that can be used as a starting point for collaborative planning by powerholders. However, in most cases, it is these powerholders who propose a participatory approach to planning.

Arnstein's Ladder of Citizen Participation (1969) structures the ways in which citizens are involved in urban planning methods. It categorizes participatory approaches according to meaningful degrees of participation. It is factual that in the majority of cases, participation doesn't properly influence design decision-making and the outcomes of urban projects (Dyer et al, 2017b).

are merely informed of the project's desired outcomes. Finally, Participation, Delegated Power and Citizen Control are on the top rungs of the ladder. Those are the levels in which there is a serious level of power-sharing in planning initiatives - when citizen's demands are properly taken into account.

It is important to guarantee that collaborative methods are not turned into an empty ritual. Meaningful participation can be achieved in different ways, through giving citizens control over parts of the programme, control over an institution that governs it or through parallel groups of citizens and power holders through negotiation (Arnstein, 1969).

The ladder has eight levels, divided into three sections, which are degrees of non-participation, tokenism and meaningful participation. The bottom section consists of Manition and Therapy, planning and conduction programs that are focused on changing participant's behaviour according to pre-established goals instead of learning their demands. Informing, Consultation and Placation comprise the Tokenistic practices, in which there is a one-way relationship with the public, whose opinions are used as a justification for pre-established goals or