An evaluation of public participation in land use planning: a case study of Ames, Iowa

The City of Ames Iowa and the planning consultant had a strong desire to incorporate citizen participation in the Land Use Policy Plan process. The consultant proposed a plan to involve citizens. City staff and elected officials accepted and approved the plan for citizen participation. Citizen participation was an important part of the Ames Land Use Policy Plan process. A significant effort was placed on the plan to involve citizens. During the planning process citizen participation changed. This research effort assesses what the impact of the change in citizen participation had on the outcome of the plan, on the citizen\u27s perception of their involvement in the development of the plan and how effectiveness of the planning process. This study will review the Ames process, identify citizen participation in the Ames land use planning process, develop a survey questionnaire for citizens who participated in the planning process, analyze the data from the survey and develop conclusions