Participation: A Model Of Individual Willingness To Participate In The Transportation Planning Process
Year: 2005
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This study sought to identify the key determinants that lead individuals to participate in the transportation planning process. Two models of participation, one for the short-term and another for the long-term, were developed to test whether the key internal and external determinants are responsible for influencing a person's willingness to participate. The data for this study came from a mail-back survey that was administered to a random sample of 570 individuals throughout the State of Florida for a response rate of 37.37 percent. The results indicate that the internal motivational determinants exert more influence on a person's short-term willingness to participate as compared to a person's long-term willingness to participate. In addition, the external social capital determinants exert more influence on a person's long-term willingness to participate as compared to a person's short-term willingness to participate. However, only one of the three external citizenship orientation variables, participatory citizenship orientation, was found to be influential in determining a person's short-term willingness to participate. Recommendations were made for public managers to work collaboratively with the public as a participative facilitator, thereby opening up the decision-making process to the general public. One suggested course of action is for public managers to use existing civic organizations as a base for widening an agency's long-term planning outreach programs. In addition, suggestions for future research propose that qualitative studies delve in-depth into the positive/negative feelings related to participation, as well as look at how different public participation techniques may affect a person's willingness to participate, especially as it relates to different time frames.
Author: Michael Neidhart
Language: English
Subfield: Public Administration
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2757411633